Teacher residency program comes to Kansas City area schools

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A group of nearly 40 men and women will join Kansas City-area students in the classroom this fall as part of a new program designed to prepare aspiring teachers to be effective urban educators.

The Kansas City Star reported the 39 students will be a part of the Kansas City Teacher Residency, which was launched this year with a $1.2 million federal grant. The program is modeled after medical residencies.

In the first year of the program, the students receive a $25,000 stipend while in residence. They teach full time and finish their master's degrees from Park University in the second year.

"The reason a person would do residence is you have more time in the classroom with a master teacher where a student teacher program is typically only 12 weeks," said Charles King, executive director of the teacher residency group.

King said the residency program is a response to teacher shortages in urban cities.

"Missouri data shows there are more teachers coming out of universities than there are teaching jobs in the state, (and) most of those coming out of school are attracted to the suburban districts," King said. "The shortage comes in when people desire to work in schools that don't require as much of the teacher as is demanded of a teacher in an urban high-need school."

The first class was chosen from 130 applications and consists of some recent education school graduates, along with others with bachelor's degrees who are seeking a career change.

Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com