BPS Teaching Fellowship SYCohort

Position: BPS Teaching Fellowship SY26-27 Cohort
POSITION: BPS Teaching Fellowship  Cohort member

REPORTS TO:

Director of BPS Teacher Pipeline and MTEL Programs

Position Number: N/A

Grade: N/A

BPS TEACHER PIPELINES OVERVIEW

Boston Public School's Teacher Pipeline Programs (BPS TPP) are part of the larger strategy of the Office of Human Resources to address the demand for highly-qualified, equity-minded, and racially-literate teachers for Boston's classrooms. Our core belief is that the next generation of Boston's teachers is in the schools, homes, and communities of Boston right now. This permeates all the work we do.

BPS TPP are multigenerational, community-based teacher preparation programs for preservice and in-service teachers. We represent the third generation of teacher preparation programs in the US - Teacher 3.0 (Kretchmar & Zeichner, 2016) - where our candidates are prepared to work in solidarity with their families and students by interrupting racism at personal and systemic levels using the critical literacy of race (Sealey-Ruiz 2020).

Our teacher preparation programs are unique: we are among the few nationally and certainly the state's only locally-embedded, state-approved, multigenerational, "grow your own '' educator preparation program. The overarching mission of the BPS TPP is to support racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse teachers by providing a coherent and comprehensive pathway from para educator to professional teacher. Keeping students at the center of our work, we aim to cultivate teachers who empower young people to be change agents for the city's communities.

This is work we know can happen in classrooms where teachers are committed, responsive, and reflective of the students and their various cultures, heritages, backgrounds, and languages. BPS TPP's three overarching goals are:

* Develop and sustain an affordable pathway to an advanced degree for BPS teachers of color;

* Increase the number of BPS teachers who reflect the linguistic, racial, and ethnic diversity of Boston's students through an accessible pathway and supportive programming, and

* Improve the ability and agency of BPS teachers to center race and racism through culturally affirming pedagogy and practice

The BPS TPP comprises three programs, the longest running of which is the BPS Teaching Fellowship. Since 2016, the BPS Teacher Pipeline programs have been cultivating effective, equity-oriented prospective and early-career teachers who represent the diverse communities, cultures, languages, and backgrounds of the City of Boston. The following data summarizes the strong retention rate of BPS Teaching Fellows' completers of color.

* Since 2018, 154 BPS educators have completed the Fellowship and been endorsed for Initial licensure for Moderate Disabilities and English as a Second Language (ESL).

* Since 2022, 78% of BPS Teaching Fellowship completers are still teaching in BPS.

* Also, since 2022, the BPS Teaching Fellowship has more than doubled in size. Prior to SY22-23, we had an average of 15.4 completers; since SY22-23, our average number of completers is 32.

* The demographics of the BPS Teaching Fellowship completers who remain teaching in BPS more closely reflect that of BPS students than the overall BPS teacher workforce.

BPS TEACHING FELLOWSHIP OVERVIEW

Participant Benefits:

Our innovative educator preparation training model is designed to help BPS Teaching Fellows lead their students to success from the moment they step into their classrooms. We offer:

* One-on-One Intensive & Individualized

Coaching:

BPS Teaching Fellows receive rigorous instructional coaching from our expert staff, who are doctorate-level veteran teachers. Fellows are also shepherded to endorsement for licensure through the state's Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP). Our coaching model will help Fellows see exponential growth in their practice over time. Each Fellow will receive frequent and consistent feedback on pedagogy and practice from BPSTF specialists on a weekly basis throughout the school year.

Teaching Fellows are strongly supported to prepare for and pass all required MTEL tests during their time in the Fellowship. Fellows are also required and supported to secure their Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsement-a requirement for teaching in BPS.

* Early Summer Pre-Practicum and Programming: A key component of the BPS Teaching Fellowship is its gradual release model. During the May welcome session, Fellows are introduced to the online ESL and MD course modules they will complete over the summer. During August orientation, Fellows co-construct their vision of great teaching while also beginning to work in small group instruction. In September, Fellows begin their 1-month intensive pre-practicum while teaching in BPS to build upon their content and pedagogical knowledge, as they continue their online academic work and engage in our bi-monthly Academy session courses.

Throughout the pre-practicum, Fellows receive intensive in-person coaching and support from full-time specialists…