Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES is coordinating a new county-wide teacher residency program to help ease the teacher shortage locally. The Monroe Regional Teacher Residency Consortium was created through a $3.6 million grant from the New York State Department of Labor’s Empire State Teacher Residency Program. This program will support the education and training of 120 aspiring PK-12 teachers over the next two years. Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, Monroe One BOCES, and local school districts have partnered with the
University of Rochester and
Nazareth University for this program.
Prospective teachers will enroll in a 15-month master’s degree and initial teacher certification programs at the University of Rochester’s Warner School of Education and Nazareth University’s School of Education, and then apply to a complementary selection process for the residency program. The application process is competitive, and residents who are accepted will be compensated for their clinical work, receiving a $15,000 stipend toward graduate school tuition and a minimum salary of $20,000 for living expenses throughout the program.
These efforts will fill workforce gaps within the education system by decreasing financial barriers for prospective teachers and ensuring they become well-prepared, licensed local educators.