LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A program working to end the teacher shortage and increase racial equity is welcoming a new cohort of future Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) teachers who will be placed in high-needs schools.
The Louisville Teacher Residency (LTR) Program was created three years ago and aims to equip teachers with the tools to better serve their community by empowering educators to not only be well-versed in academic subjects, but equity and the diverse needs of students within JCPS.
“I would like to one day walk into a school and every teacher at the school has been a LTR resident,” Alexis Williams, a second-grade teacher at Semple Elementary said.
Williams completed the program and her teacher residency at Semple. Afterward, she decided to stay. Now, as she spoke to WHAS on the last day of school, she’s finished with her first year as a full-time teacher.
“I felt like I was very prepared. I felt like there was nothing anybody could throw at me that I couldn't do because I came from LTR,” Williams said.
LTR is a one-year program that prepares those passionate about education for a teaching career at JCPS.
Participants enroll in the University of Louisville’s College and Education and teach within high-needs schools, concurrently. After completion of the program, the new teachers take on their own classrooms.
Program director Sylena Fishback said it was born out of recognizing how underserved Black and brown students are.
“Some of the things that they're dealing with at home when they're seven years old, I couldn't imagine going through it when I was 23,” Fishback said. “When our students walk into the classroom, we have to recognize each of them as individuals. We have to make sure we're giving each of them what they need in order to be successful, and that may look different from student to student.”
As for what a high-needs school is - Fishback said it just means the students need a high amount of care.
"A little more love, a little more patience, a little more wisdom as far as what to do, and a little more emotional intelligence," Fishback said. "The kids are still kiddos; they're still gonna love you; they're still gonna have their good days; they're still gonna have their tough days. [That's] the reality of teaching and that happens in every school."
Williams said the program prepared her with trauma-informed education practices.
“You don't know what a child is carrying,” she said. “You come in and they need those type of people that'll pat them on the back and sometimes you're the only hug they get for the day.”
The program also addresses the need for intentionality in hiring Black and brown teachers.
Semple Elementary School Principal Danielle Randle said she's proud to have welcomed so many resident teachers.
“It is a different connection that you make with people who you feel like understand you, represent your culture, your background, your upbringing,” Randle said. “I just want Semple to continue to be a spot where people can grow and learn and realize that they are making a difference giving back to the community giving back to our city, making our kids better.”
Though Randall said it’s always hard to see the resident teachers leave, she’s glad Williams stayed.
It’s a sentiment Williams agrees with.
“They're my ‘why,’” Williams said. “They're the reason why I get up in the morning and come and do this every day with a smile on my face.”
The program is also designed to address the teacher shortage. Currently, JCPS has more than 300 teacher vacancies.
Randle said LTR has graduated about 70 students and 32 will enter JCPS schools in August. The program has served around 27 schools.
The newest cohort started this week, but the program is still accepting up to five applicants.
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