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The Brandeis School of San Francisco Teacher Residency Program Launches for the 2017–18 Year

After two years of research, the Brandeis Teacher Residency Program has officially launched with the start of the 2017–18 school year. This program allows new and experienced teachers to develop their teaching skills under the guidance of lead teachers. Residents grow their practices through hands-on experience in the classroom, guided by goal-oriented mentorship from their lead teachers. At Brandeis, there is one resident teacher in each lower school classroom, many of whom were formerly associate teachers. “The resident-mentor relationship fosters a community of intellectual curiosity and expansion in which all teachers can learn from one another through collaboration, discussion, and reflection,” says Director of Lower School Jenny Rinn.
 
The creation of this program came out of a need to create a more consistent experience in the classroom for both the associate teachers and Brandeis students. Teacher Mentor Lead Nicole Schoentag spent the 2016–17 school year speaking with many schools in the Bay Area and beyond—including Hillbrook School in Los Gatos and University Child Development School in Seattle—regarding teacher residency programs, before working this summer with Director of Lower School Jenny Rinn to create the Brandeis program.
 
“The major shift in the program from what we had before is that now both teachers are entirely focused on the students,” explains Ms. Schoentag. “Student achievement rates increase significantly when both teachers are supporting the students. Ultimately, we see this as a mentorship program and we hope that our resident teachers will move on to lead teaching positions either at Brandeis or at another amazing school. We have a really impressive group of resident teachers this year at Brandeis.”

Click here for larger group photo.
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