Priorities for TPPs

Potential Teachers

Collaborate to develop and cosponsor future teacher programs such as Educators Rising with learning experiences or coursework aligned with Educators Rising’s 2016 standards. Recommended collaborators: NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts

Advocate for improvements in PreK-12 salaries and working conditions using relevant research.

Host various recruitment events targeting diverse populations.

Ensure that every PreK-12 student — regardless of socioeconomic status, geographic location, race, gender, or other personal characteristic — has access to a challenging and broad curriculum that includes: access to upper-level coursework; specialized programs of interest to individual students; and 21st century skills that foster creativity and problem solving, and open a full range of postsecondary opportunities. Recommended collaborators: Teachers, NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community, Policymakers

Ensure that teaching and learning experienced by PreK-12 students engages them with authentic experiences, community connections, and opportunities to choose the content and kinds of demonstrations of mastery that best represent their individual learning styles. Recommended collaborators: Teachers, NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community, Policymakers

Aspiring Teacher

Collaborate in the design, implementation, evaluation, and improvement of TPPs. Use recommendations from NEA’s 2014 “Teacher Residencies” as a guide for design. Include elements such as:

• Ensure candidates explore the range of experiences within PreK-12 classrooms and beyond to be “profession ready” upon program completion.

• Ensure cooperating teachers have the teaching skills and abilities to positively foster professional growth for the aspiring teachers with whom they work.

• Provide ongoing training for cooperating teachers, give them feedback on their work in those roles, and gather feedback from them about programs.

• Collaboratively and purposefully pair candidates with cooperating teachers.

• Integrate cooperating teachers as faculty within the TPP.

• Provide compensation for additional expertise and responsibilities of serving as cooperating teacher.

• Use professional/accomplished PreK-12 teachers more broadly in TPP roles in schools and on campus.

• Ensure that TPP faculty also have recent, relevant PreK-12 experience.

• Focus programs on preparing candidates to meet the needs of every student through culturally responsive practice and sensitivity to student differences including race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation/gender identification, disability, religious beliefs, residence, and primary language.

Recommended collaborators: NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts

Partner with PreK-12 schools to provide academic support to promising candidates needing assistance. Programs must model culturally responsive teaching and best practices in authentic learning environments. Recommended collaborators: NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts

Develop and implement extensive experiences for candidates to work with parents, families, and in the community within the school and beyond. Recommended collaborators: NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community

Ensure candidates develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to meaningfully engage parents in the teaching/learning process and to develop learning experiences that are culturally responsive to, and honor the background of, each student. Recommended collaborators: NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community

Collaboratively develop and implement experiences to help aspiring teachers build positive connections with the communities where they work, and for schools, unions, and communities to provide support for the psychological, cultural, and emotional needs of the aspiring teacher. Recommended collaborators: Teachers, NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community, Policymakers

Create a network of preparation programs, with schools and districts sharing successful TPP practices and fostering collaboration across all partners. Recommended collaborators: NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community, Policymakers

Ensure design of programs aligns with national standards for program design and “profession readiness” of candidates.

Systemically show value of work with candidates and PreK-12 schools (promotion, tenure, etc.).

Emerging Teachers

Provide support beyond program completion to ensure a smooth transition from teacher preparation to career induction experiences.

Continue to collect follow-up data on candidate satisfaction, employer satisfaction, and candidate success in achieving full professional licensure.

Collaboratively develop and implement experiences to help emerging teachers build positive connections with the communities where they work. Recommended collaborators: Teachers, NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community

Collaboratively develop and implement programs to support the psychological, cultural, and emotional needs of emerging teachers — particularly those from underrepresented groups — during induction. Recommended collaborators: Teachers, NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts, External Partners/Community

Develop workshops and coursework to assist new teachers in developing towards full professional licensure on a path to accomplished practice.

Accomplished Teachers

Collaborate in the development and use of local (department, grade, school) and virtual networks of teachers to serve as networked improvement communities. Recommended collaborators: NEA and Affiliates, Schools/Districts

Use “teacher leader standards” and “teacher leadership competencies” as a basis for coursework in developing teacher leaders.

Provide avenues for accomplished teachers to participate in various roles within TPPs (e.g., instructors/adjunct faculty)