II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1574 

To establish Teaching Residency Programs for preparation and induction 

of teachers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 7, 2007 

Mr. OBAMA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish Teaching Residency Programs for preparation 

and induction of teachers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Teaching Residency 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) There are large and unrelenting gaps in 

9 student achievement among various student sub10 groups, with low-income and minority children permstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 forming at levels measurably lower than their more 

2 affluent peers. In urban elementary schools, African3 American and Latino students are several times less 

4 likely than their white peers to be reading at even 

5 a basic level, and children living in poverty are sev6 eral times less likely than their more affluent peers 

7 to be proficient in reading or mathematics. Students 

8 in poor rural communities are also harmed. In some 

9 States, only 60 percent of white students graduate 

10 from secondary school. 

11 (2) Three out of every 10 9th-grade students 

12 will not graduate from high school on schedule, and 

13 about half of all African-American and Hispanic 9th 

14 graders will not earn a diploma in 4 years. Of those 

15 who do graduate and continue on to college, over a 

16 quarter must enroll in remedial courses on material 

17 they should have learned in high school. 

18 (3) It is children of color and children of pov19 erty who suffer most from a failure to provide them 

20 with adequate resources and expert teachers. For ex21 ample, students of color and low-income students are 

22 more likely to be assigned teachers who are teaching 

23 outside their field of expertise, and twice as likely as 

24 white and affluent students to be assigned to inexpe25 rienced teachers. 

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1 (4) Having an effective teacher throughout ele2 mentary school can substantially overcome the dis3 advantage of a low socioeconomic background, and 

4 the influence of teachers on student achievement is 

5 greater than other variables. 

6 (5) Inexperienced teachers are less effective 

7 than teachers with several years of experience. Suc8 cessful teacher preparation programs, providing on9 going support, can make novice teachers effective 

10 more rapidly. The majority of new teachers lack 

11 such support, and so leave the profession before be12 coming effective. 

13 (6) Urban and high poverty schools often lose 

1 14 ⁄5 of their teaching staff each year. More than 40 

15 percent of teachers have 3 or fewer years experience 

16 in their current school. This constant turnover of in17 experienced, underprepared teachers, especially in 

18 high-poverty schools, thwarts efforts at school im19 provement. Teachers leave the profession much soon20 er if they have inadequate preparation and ineffec21 tive mentoring support in their first years of teach22 ing. The national costs of teacher attrition are esti23 mated at more than $2,000,000,000 annually. 

24 (7) Teacher candidates must see expert prac25 tices modeled and must then practice them with onmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 going mentoring support. Teacher preparation often 

2 fails to provide the opportunity to learn under the 

3 direct supervision of expert teachers working in 

4 schools that effectively serve high-need students. 

5 Student teaching is too often conducted in class6 rooms that do not model effective practice, or in 

7 classrooms that do not serve high-need students, and 

8 the lessons learned do not generalize to effective 

9 teaching in high-need schools. 

10 (8) It is critical to develop programs that in11 crease the probability recruits will succeed and stay 

12 in the high-need classrooms where they are needed. 

13 Because many teacher candidates choose to teach 

14 where they grew up or went to college, it is impor15 tant to have strong programs in hard-to-staff urban 

16 and rural locations. 

17 (9) Teaching Residency Programs effectively 

18 build teacher supply, since they recruit and prepare 

19 candidates in the districts that sponsor them. Teach20 ing residency programs have demonstrated the ca21 pacity to recruit, prepare, retain, and provide effec22 tive support for teachers in high-need schools. 

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1 SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR TEACHING RESIDENCY PRO2 GRAMS. 

3 Title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1021 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘PART C—TEACHING RESIDENCY PROGRAMS 

7 ‘‘SEC. 231. GRANT PROGRAM FOR TEACHING RESIDENCY 

8 PROGRAMS. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) HIGH-NEED LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN11 CY.—The term ‘high-need local educational agency’ 

12 means a local educational agency— 

13 ‘‘(A) that is among the highest 50 percent 

14 of local educational agencies in the State in 

15 terms of percentage of students from families 

16 with incomes below the poverty line (as defined 

17 in section 201); 

18 ‘‘(B) that is among the lowest 50 percent 

19 of local educational agencies in the State on as20 sessments required under part A of title I of 

21 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

22 of 1965, or, where feasible, the lowest 50 per23 cent of local educational agencies in the State 

24 in terms of measures of teaching effectiveness; 

25 and 

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1 ‘‘(C) for which there is a high percentage 

2 of classes taught by teachers not teaching in 

3 the academic subjects or grade levels that the 

4 teachers were prepared to teach. 

5 ‘‘(2) HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.—The term ‘high6 need school’ means a school that— 

7 ‘‘(A) is among the highest 50 percent of 

8 schools in the local educational agency that 

9 serves the school in terms of percentage of stu10 dents from families with incomes below the pov11 erty line (as defined in section 201); 

12 ‘‘(B) is among the lowest 50 percent of 

13 schools in the local educational agency that 

14 serves the school on assessments required under 

15 part A of title I of the Elementary and Sec16 ondary Education Act of 1965, or, where fea17 sible, the lowest 50 percent of schools in the 

18 State in terms of measures of teaching effec19 tiveness; and 

20 ‘‘(C) is not undergoing the process of cor21 rective action, as described in section 1116 of 

22 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

23 of 1965. 

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1 ‘‘(3) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

2 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

3 meaning given the term in section 101(a). 

4 ‘‘(4) TEACHING RESIDENCY PROGRAM.—The 

5 term ‘teaching residency program’ means a school6 based teacher preparation program in which a pro7 spective teacher— 

8 ‘‘(A) for 1 academic year, teaches along9 side a mentor teacher, who is the teacher of 

10 record; 

11 ‘‘(B) receives concurrent instruction, which 

12 may be taught by district or residency program 

13 faculty, in the teaching of the content area in 

14 which the teacher will become certified or li15 censed to teach; 

16 ‘‘(C) acquires knowledge of planning, con17 tent, pedagogy, student learning, and assess18 ment, management of the classroom environ19 ment, and professional responsibilities, includ20 ing interaction with families and colleagues; 

21 ‘‘(D) earns a master’s degree and attains 

22 full State certification or licensure to teach 

23 prior to completion of the program; and 

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1 ‘‘(E) receives ongoing mentoring support 

2 in a structured induction program for not less 

3 than the first 2 years as teacher of record. 

4 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall establish 

5 a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to 20 

6 high-need local educational agencies, or a consortium of 

7 such local educational agencies, in partnership with non8 profit community agencies and an institution of higher 

9 education, to enable such partnerships to carry out the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Support teaching residency programs to 

12 prepare teachers in high-needs subject areas as de13 termined by local educational agency needs. 

14 ‘‘(2) Modify staffing procedures, in consultation 

15 and cooperation with local teacher organizations, to 

16 provide greater flexibility for agency and school lead17 ers to establish effective school-level staffing to fa18 cilitate placement of graduates of the teaching resi19 dency programs in cohorts that facilitate profes20 sional collaboration, both among graduates of the 

21 teaching residency program, and between such grad22 uates and mentor teachers in the receiving school. 

23 Staffing procedures shall include consideration of eq24 uitable distribution of effective teachers to ensure 

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1 that poor and minority students are not dispropor2 tionately taught by teachers who are— 

3 ‘‘(A) poorly prepared in the subject being 

4 taught; and 

5 ‘‘(B) less likely to excel in other measures 

6 of teacher effectiveness. 

7 ‘‘(3) Ensure that residents receive both effective 

8 mentoring during preparation and effective induction 

9 once they become the teacher of record. 

10 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—A high-need local educational 

11 agency that desires to receive a grant under this section 

12 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, 

13 in such manner, and accompanied by such information as 

14 the Secretary shall require. 

15 ‘‘(d) TEACHING RESIDENCY PROGRAMS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—A high-need local 

18 educational agency that receives a grant under 

19 this section shall use the grant funds to estab20 lish a Teaching Residency Program, based upon 

21 models of successful teaching residencies, as a 

22 mechanism to prepare teachers for success in 

23 such local educational agency. 

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1 ‘‘(B) DESIGN.—Each Teaching Residency 

2 Program shall be designed to meet the following 

3 characteristics of successful programs: 

4 ‘‘(i) Teaching residencies integrate 

5 pedagogy and classroom practice. Resi6 dents engage in rigorous master’s level 

7 coursework while undertaking a guided 

8 teaching apprenticeship. 

9 ‘‘(ii) Residents learn alongside a 

10 trained and experienced mentor. Mentor 

11 teachers shall complement the residency 

12 program so that classroom clinical practice 

13 is tightly aligned with coursework. Mentor 

14 teachers shall have extra responsibilities as 

15 teacher leaders of the Teaching Residency 

16 Program, as mentors for residents, and as 

17 teacher coaches during the induction of 

18 novice teachers. These responsibilities shall 

19 include establishing, within the program, a 

20 learning community in which all individ21 uals are expected to continually improve 

22 their capacity to advance student learning. 

23 Mentor teachers may have relief from 

24 teaching duties as a result of such addi25 tional responsibilities. The Teaching Resimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 dency Program shall establish clear criteria 

2 for selection of mentor teachers based on 

3 measures of teacher effectiveness and the 

4 appropriate subject area knowledge. Eval5 uation of teacher effectiveness shall be 

6 based on observations of such domains of 

7 teaching as the following: 

8 ‘‘(I) Planning and preparation, 

9 including demonstrated knowledge of 

10 content, pedagogy, and assessment, 

11 including the use of formative assess12 ment to improve student learning. 

13 ‘‘(II) Appropriate instruction 

14 that engages students with different 

15 learning styles. 

16 ‘‘(III) Collaboration with col17 leagues to improve instruction. 

18 ‘‘(IV) Appropriate and fair anal19 ysis of gains in student learning. 

20 When feasible, this may include valid 

21 and reliable objective measure of the 

22 influence of teachers on the rate of 

23 student academic progress. 

24 ‘‘(iii) Teaching Residency Programs 

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1 cilitate professional collaboration among 

2 residents. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Teaching Residency Programs 

4 admissions goals and priorities are devel5 oped in concert with the hiring objectives 

6 of the local educational agency, which com7 mits to hire graduates from the residency 

8 program. Residents learn to teach in the 

9 same district in which they will work, 

10 learning the instructional initiatives and 

11 curriculum of the district. 

12 ‘‘(v) Teaching Residency Programs 

13 support residents once they are hired as 

14 teachers of record. Residencies continue to 

15 provide mentoring, professional develop16 ment, and networking opportunities to sup17 port residents through their first years of 

18 teaching. 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS.—An individual 

20 may be eligible for a grant to attend a Teaching 

21 Residency Program if the individual is a recent col22 lege graduate or mid-career professional from out23 side the field of education, possessing strong content 

24 knowledge or a record of achievement. 

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1 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—An individual who is eligi2 ble under paragraph (2) and who desires a grant 

3 under this subsection shall submit an application to 

4 the Teaching Residency Program. 

5 ‘‘(4) SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Teaching 

6 Residency Program shall establish criteria for selec7 tion of individuals to receive grants under this sub8 section, based on the following characteristics: 

9 ‘‘(A) Demonstrated comprehensive subject 

10 knowledge or record of accomplishment in the 

11 field or subject area to be taught. 

12 ‘‘(B) Strong verbal and written commu13 nication skills, which may be demonstrated by 

14 performance on appropriate tests. 

15 ‘‘(C) Other attributes linked to effective 

16 teaching, which may be determined by inter17 views or performance assessments, as deter18 mined by the Teaching Residency Program. 

19 ‘‘(5) RECEIPT OF GRANT.—An individual who 

20 receives a grant under this subsection shall enroll in 

21 the program of the Teaching Residency Program, 

22 which shall include the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) A 1-year teaching residency program 

24 in a school served by the local educational agen25 cy, under the supervision of a mentor teacher 

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1 serving as the teacher of record, with dem2 onstrated teaching effectiveness, who will in3 struct the resident in planning and preparation, 

4 instruction of students, management of the 

5 classroom environment, and other professional 

6 responsibilities. 

7 ‘‘(B) A living stipend or salary for the pe8 riod of residency. 

9 ‘‘(C) Concurrent instruction from a part10 ner college, State-approved organization, or 

11 school of education at an institution of higher 

12 education in pedagogy classes to augment the 

13 expertise of district or residency program fac14 ulty, and to the extent necessary to receive full 

15 certification as a teacher. 

16 ‘‘(D) Ongoing mentoring and coaching 

17 during the first 2 or more years of induction 

18 into classroom teaching. 

19 ‘‘(6) PLACEMENT IN HIGH-NEED SCHOOL.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible individual 

21 who receives a grant under this subsection shall 

22 teach in a high-need school served by the local 

23 educational agency for a period of 3 years after 

24 completing the 1-year teaching residency pro25 gram. 

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1 ‘‘(B) REPAYMENT.—If an eligible indi2 vidual does not complete the teaching require3 ment described in subparagraph (A), such indi4 vidual shall repay to the local educational agen5 cy a pro rata portion of the grant amount for 

6 the amount of teaching time the individual did 

7 not complete. 

8 ‘‘(e) TEACHING RESIDENCY PROGRAM EVALUA9 TION.—Of the amounts appropriated to carry out this sec10 tion, the Secretary shall reserve 5 percent for an evalua11 tion of the effectiveness of the program established under 

12 this section, in relation to the effectiveness of other pro13 grams that prepare teachers for employment with high14 need schools and high-need local educational agencies, in15 cluding, where feasible, value-added measures of learning 

16 gains of students taught by graduates of each Teaching 

17 Residency Program, to be conducted by the Institute of 

18 Education Sciences, the National Science Foundation, or 

19 the National Academy of Sciences, at the direction of the 

20 Secretary. Not later than 5 years after the date of enact21 ment of the Teaching Residency Act, the Secretary shall 

22 make the results of such evaluation public. 

23 ‘‘(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—A high-need local edu24 cational agency that receives a grant under this section 

25 shall provide matching funds in an amount equal to 100 

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1 percent of grant funds provided to the agency under this 

2 section to carry out the activities supported by the grant, 

3 which may be provided by community partners, institu4 tions of higher education, or others. 

5 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

7 appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 

8 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. 

9 ‘‘(2) REDIRECTION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

10 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, the Sec11 retary shall redirect amounts appropriated to carry 

12 out this title, other than this section, that the Sec13 retary determines to be ineffective, to carry out this 

14 section.’’. 

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