Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi residency program prepares teachers local jobs

Since the first day of school in the fall, 17 Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi senior education students have spent much of their time in K-12 classrooms in Corpus Christi ISD.

Now that their graduation is fast approaching, these future teachers have been promised jobs in CCISD.

On Friday afternoon, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Corpus Christi ISD held a signing day for the resident teachers, marking a successful second year of the teacher education residency program.

The paid, year-long residency program is nearing the end of its second year. The university launched a pilot program for prospective elementary teachers last year, offering paid residencies to six teachers in Corpus Christi ISD and five in Gregory-Portland ISD.

At the end of last year's program, CCISD hired eight of the residents.

This year, 17 elementary and secondary residents were stationed in CCISD schools with another eight in Gregory-Portland ISD schools.

Amber Trigo, Erika Pompa and Elisa Gonzales are all completing residencies at King High School. This spring, they spent four days each week at the school, working in the classroom, as well as participating in professional development and professional learning communities on campus.

"It was a really good first-time experience," Gonzales said. "It really showed me that I really want to be a high school teacher."

Anisa Martinez spent the year in a second grade classroom at Zavala Elementary School. She said that the fact that the residency was a paid opportunity was important.

"It helps keep your mind towards teaching and not having to worry about, 'Oh, I have to go to work, I have to worry about another job'," Martinez said.

Martinez said she's looking forward to having her own classroom and building a connection with students.

There are challenges to the first days in the classroom, Martinez said.

"You have to learn the curriculums and learn how to teach it and then take that and adjust your teaching," Martinez said. "It's like this constant cycle of just being new to everything.

Trigo said that she learned how to build rapport with students.

"You get to experience everything from the good-good to the bad-bad," Trigo said.

Some of the best moments are the "aha moments", Caitlyn Breiten said.

Madelyn Burton was a resident in a pre-K classroom at Sam Houston Elementary School.

"Seeing how impactful my CT (co-teacher) has been this year and taking everything I've learned from her − I feel so much more prepared from the beginning to the end, rather than being thrown in," Burton said.

She said she believes the residency will be impactful when she has her own class next year.

"We're going in with out eyes open," Burton said.

Nine of the residencies were funded with state funds, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the College of Education and Human Development Kathleen Lynch-Davis said. The rest were funded by CCISD and G-PISD.

"A lot of our students here at TAMUCC work a large amount of hours," Lynch-Davis said. "This keeps them from having to do that. And, they're providing a service for the school that the school district needs."

Next year, the university plans to expand the program to Flour Bluff ISD.

"The research tells us that the longer their in their placement, the better ready they are to begin their first year of teaching," Lynch-Davis said.

The residents spent about four days a week in the classroom co-teaching. They also assist with other duties such as tutoring and substitute teaching, or working with students in small groups.

Kimberly Reinhardt leads the secondary residency program for students interested in teaching in middle or high schools. The goal of the program is to grow teachers who will meet needs in the community.

"We've worked for a number of years to put this residency in place and this is the fruit of our residency," Reinhardt said. "This is the thing that we all wanted going into it, both district and the university."

To participate, students first have to apply, submitting a video and essay, as well as participating in an interview. Eventually, the university hopes all education students will have the chance to participate in a paid, year-long residency before they graduate, said Robin Pizzitola, who leads the elementary residency program.

"The year-long experience is such a valuable experience for them to be part of the school culture, for them to understand and be day-one ready and to be able to walk into the classroom and see what's happening and going on," Pizzitola said.

Through the program's co-teaching model, the residents actively teach.

"It's not like they sit back and just watch," Pizzitola said. "They are up teaching from the first day."

Pizzitola said that the residents also have a positive impact in the classrooms where they are placed.

"We see where they have been able to really work with students in their classrooms to help them become successful and to grow in their content areas," Pizzitola said.

Hoping to fill teacher vacancies early, CCISD has already offered letters of commitment to the 17 residents who were placed in the district this year. For the past several years, CCISD has had teacher vacancies at the beginning of the school year. The district had a little under 100 vacancies on the first day of school in 2023.

"This is such an enormous success because they get to graduate and know that they will be working somewhere," Reinhardt said. "It's a really special thing, getting your first job in the profession you went to school for, sacrificing the blood, sweat and tears as they say. And they're ready. They've got it. They've done it."

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: University, school district partnership puts teachers in classrooms