Become a District Partner
What is Arizona Teaching Fellows?
In the fight to eliminate educational inequality, teachers matter the most. A 2002 study of teachers concluded that, “having a high quality teacher throughout elementary school can substantially offset or even eliminate the disadvantage of low socio-economic background” (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2002). Research has also shown that students who have at least three consecutive years of highly effective teachers significantly outperform their counterparts who have three consecutive years of less effective teachers by up to 50 percentile points (Sanders & Rivers, 1996).
Getting highly qualified, effective teachers into your hardest-to-staff classrooms doesn’t have to be a dream. Arizona Teaching Fellows can help make it a reality.
Arizona Teaching Fellows are increasing student achievement and having a significant impact on raising student achievement in their classrooms. Fellows are ready to serve as career educators with 70% of 2011 Fellows planning to teach for 5 or more years!
Arizona Teaching Fellows is a program established in 2007 and created in partnership with Arizona public school districts and TNTP, a national nonprofit dedicated to closing the achievement gap by ensuring that high-need students get outstanding teachers. Arizona Teaching Fellows is a resource for attracting qualified and dedicated teachers in critical subject areas to schools where they are most needed.
How does Arizona Teaching Fellows support district priorities around teacher quality?
Arizona Teaching Fellows is highly selective alternative certification program. Fellow candidates participate in a rigorous application and interview process that evaluates critical thinking, achievement, and commitment to list a few characteristics.
Once accepted into the program, Fellows participate in an intensive summer Pre-Service Training that includes:
- A rigorous practice teaching experience in a Phoenix summer school classroom, with an opportunity to observe and lead classroom instruction with immediate guidance, evaluation, and feedback from experienced teachers.
- Curriculum sessions researched and designed to prepare new teachers to apply the foundations of strong instructional delivery, classroom management, and other skills necessary to become an effective teacher in a high-need school.
- Engaging discussions and activities about the realistic challenges and benefits of teaching in a diverse educational setting where students urgently need excellent teachers.
Fellows must successfully complete all Arizona Teaching Fellows and Arizona Department of Education requirements in order to receive their Teaching Intern Certificate and be eligible for hire within our partner school districts.
During the school year, Fellows continue to receive formal observations and debriefs from program staff designed to connect them to the right resources at their school and district to maximize their development and classroom impact.
How does my school or district become a Partner in order to hire Fellows?
We currently work and have District Partnerships in the Phoenix metropolitan area with Fowler School District, Littleton School District, Roosevelt School District, and Phoenix Collegiate Academy charter school; in Yuma with Antelope High School District, Crane School District, Yuma Elementary School District, and Yuma Union High School District; in Northeastern Arizona we partner with Page Unified School District, Sanders Unified School District, and Holbrook Unified School District. Every year, Arizona Teaching Fellows continues to broaden its program impact to school districts across the state.
If you are interested in becoming a District Partner please contact the Arizona Teaching Fellows Program Office: info@arizonateachingfellows.org. Our staff will talk with you further about the partnership possibilities and work with you on next steps. Contact us today!