top of page

Teacher Residencies As A Vehicle to Recruit Teachers of Color

Tamara Azar, Erica Hines, and Carrianne Scheib

National Center for Teacher Residencies

November 2020

The report draws upon a subset of or residency programs from NCTR’s network that demonstrate positive outcomes in recruiting teachers of color. The programs were examined to identify the most effective recruiting strategies and three key themes emerged: 1) Residency programs recruited for and from a particular community. 2) The programs all employed culturally responsive strategies to recruit candidates. 3) The programs were designed with intentionality around diversity, equity, and inclusion. 4) These themes represent key components of the residency model, demonstrating that residencies are a unique and effective vehicle in the recruitment of teachers of color.

Currently, less than 18 percent of teachers identify as persons of color, failing to reflect an increasingly diverse student population. Research indicates that students experience a myriad of benefits when they are taught by teachers who share their backgrounds, and teachers of color have been shown to confer benefits to all students, not only those of color. Teacher residencies offer an effective vehicle to attract and retain teachers of color. The teacher residencies that are part of the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) Network currently feature a teacher candidate pool in which 55 percent of teacher candidates, or residents, and 42 percent of mentors identify as persons of color. This report draws upon a subset of residency programs from within NCTR’s network that demonstrate positive outcomes in recruiting teachers of color. The programs were examined to identify the most effective recruitment strategies and three key themes emerged:

1. Residency programs recruited for and from a particular community.
2. The programs all employed culturally responsive strategies to recruit candidates.
3. The programs were designed intentionally around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

These themes represent key components of the residency model, demonstrating that residencies are a unique and effective vehicle in the recruitment of teachers of color.

bottom of page