Special to The Post
The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) wants many more young adults to come to Oakland to be teachers, and recently, OUSD received a major grant to bolster that effort.
The Oakland Teacher Residency (OTR) program received $120,000 from the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) to expand efforts to recruit and develop Black educators for OUSD schools.
The grant will allow OTR to provide an additional $10,000 for 10 Oakland Teacher Residents to reduce the financial barriers to entering the profession and becoming credentialed teachers. The grant will also support professional development through mentoring for Black Oakland Teacher Residents and first-year teachers.
The award comes through NCTR’s Black Educators Initiative (BEI), a five-year, $20-million effort to prepare 750 Black teachers through its nationwide network of teacher residency programs.
OUSD launched OTR in 2019 as part of a districtwide Grow Our Own strategy to recruit and retain staff who are reflective of Oakland’s rich diversity in the district’s Strategic Initiative #4.
Over the past three years, the program has grown from supporting eight student teachers to supporting a total of 46 teachers pursuing credentials in math, science, and special education. Of the 46 Oakland Teacher Residents, 67% identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Black teachers make up 22% of the total. The BEI funds will bolster ongoing recruitment and retention efforts of Black educators.
“It is critical for the District and for our students that we have more teachers who look like the young people in their classrooms,” said Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “So, it’s wonderful to see the early results of the Oakland Teacher Residency program, with a growing list of aspiring teachers with a profound commitment to Oakland and our students. This grant from the National Center for Teacher Residencies will enable us to bring in more young and enthusiastic educators who will add to the diverse fabric of our teaching corps, some of whom will no doubt be from Oakland. That’s exactly what our students deserve.”
Applications for the 2022-23 Oakland Teacher Residency program are now open. Math, science and special education Oakland Teacher Residents receive a $15,000 stipend to earn a credential while student teaching in an expert mentor teacher’s classroom.
There is also an affordable housing opportunity for Oakland Teacher Residents. After the one-year residency, teachers earn a teaching credential, secure a full-time teaching position, and make a four-year commitment to teach in Oakland.
For more information about the residency program, please contact: zaia.vera@ousd.org.
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