The Department of Education has received a second award from the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) to develop the teacher preparation program’s NC10 Residency Initiative further. The NCTR’s goal through this initiative is to contribute to developing teacher residency programs at six HBCUs in North Carolina. Saint Augustine’s University is participating in this effort along with Bennett College, Livingstone College, North Carolina A&T University, North Carolina Central University, and Shaw University.

This $115,000 award enables the department to engage in the Year 2 Residency Design Academy, which assists HBCU participants in “designing, scaling, and sustaining a high-quality teacher residency program to serve teacher candidates and communities of color.” These funds will enable the team at SAU to develop and operate the teacher residency program, including candidate recruitment, specific to its own needs and capabilities. The Year 2 Residency Design Academy process will allow us to solidify residency design partnerships with new and existing local school partners and the Wake County Public School System.

According to Dr. M. Iyailu Moses, chair of the SAU Department of Education, “the NCTR Residency Initiative is unique in that it will offer a full-year residency opportunity for teacher candidates in collaboration with an exceptional public school mentor teacher. It will provide financial support for the candidate and the mentor and offer continued academic support to the resident upon graduation. This model has demonstrated that teachers trained in this manner are more prepared upon entry into the profession and are likelier to remain in the profession than others. We are grateful to NCTR for this opportunity to support our efforts to develop quality teachers.”