Resident Teacher Program

Residents are partnered with a team of mentor teachers at a specific grade level. The relationship between mentor teachers and resident teachers changes depending on the style of the mentor teacher, but all residents will co-teach, lead-teach, and provide assessment and curriculum support at some point during their residency year.

All resident teachers receive Introductory Comprehensive Training in the Slingerland® Approach to instruction. This training is provided at no cost to residents during the month of July prior to the residency year and will be a core element of the year as a resident teacher.

Slingerland® is a classroom adaptation of the Orton-Gillingham method for teaching literacy. The approach is structured, sequential, and multisensory and is designed to help students with language-based learning differences make connections that lead to improvement in their reading and writing skills.

In addition to working closely with HRS mentor teachers on a daily basis, resident teachers will also work closely with administrative coaches who will provide assessment, instruction, and intensive feedback on a resident’s guided practice.

Our coaches are supportive, empathic educators with a combined total of 30 years in education.

Resident teachers are a critical part of the HRS faculty, and as such, are entitled to the same professional development opportunities as our regular faculty. In addition, the HRS Learning Center offers professional development opportunities in which the residents can partake, including a fall workshop, Speaker Series events, and more.

All residents receive a competitive salary over the course of 10-months. Residents also receive excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as professional development support.

Upon completion of the Resident Teacher Program and earning of their teaching credential, residents often land positions in local public and private schools where they take their newly-gained experience in structured literacy and the craft of teaching to mainstream and literacy-focused classrooms around the region.

HRS coaches will offer transition support including resume and cover letter workshops, references, and making connections across independent schools.

While every resident is assigned to a grade level, the group comes together as a cohort for orientation and in monthly mentorship meetings. Through sharing challenges and successes, bonds are formed in the group that create a peer support network. In the spring, the group shares in each other’s future plans and celebrates successes.