Longhorns in Residence, UT’s first teacher residency program, launched June 5 with its first cohort of students. The program allows participants with a bachelor’s degree to earn their teacher certification in early childhood education in one year.

Sarah Johnson, project manager for teacher residencies, said the first cohort wrapped up their summer semester after working 50 hours in their respective school districts and finishing 60 hours of coursework. 

The inaugural class included 14 students with diverse educational backgrounds, ranging from recent UT and Texas A&M graduates to people with master’s degrees in their 40s and 50s. Participants took classes asynchronously, but Johnson said they were also placed in classrooms across different school districts to experience what it is like to work in a classroom and work with a host teacher, while getting paid.

Starting in the fall, Johnson said students will work with a class for an entire year with the hopes of continuing to work within the same school district after completing their residency. 

Kambry Cook, a student in the residency program, worked with kids who spoke English as a second language from all over the world in Leander Independent School District. She said it was impactful to see how much work goes into the teaching profession and to educate students from around the globe. 

“It was just so cool seeing all those kids interact … and learning everything that goes into educating ESL kids,” Cook said.  

Currently, Johnson said the program partners with UT Elementary Charter School and the Leander, Pflugerville, Austin and Del Valle Independent School Districts. The program looks to expand next year to Round Rock and Bastrop Independent School Districts and is in conversations with the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District in Houston. 

“Because it is an online coursework model, we will be able to work throughout the state of Texas,” Johnson said. “It’s a really powerful model because through the relationships that we build with district partners, we gain an understanding of what their needs are (and) what their challenges are in the district.” 

Emma Fuentes, a student in the program, said even with the class being spread across the state, participants are able to build community through icebreakers and group projects. Cook said the small cohort allows participants to develop social and emotional skills, which can be applied to different aspects of life, not just working with students. 

“It’s just a great program,” Cook said. “I love it and my entire cohort is just super pumped about it.”

Partnering with a program like this can be costly to the school districts, Johnson said. However, she said legislation supported the expansion of teacher residencies. 

“A lot of different policies have provided funding to support teacher residences because it’s the gold standard of teacher preparation,” Johnson said. “Research is showing that they’re outperforming other first-year teachers once they do have their first year in the classroom and outperforming in student outcomes.”