Training and Resources

 

Summer Institute

Fellows begin their commitment to Memphis City Schools with a Summer Institute from June 7 to July 9, 2010.  The institute is designed specifically for members of Memphis Teaching Fellows. During the Institute, Fellows are exposed to seminars and workshops on curriculum standards, foundations of teaching and classroom management. Fellows also participate in discussions and activities focused on the challenges and benefits of teaching in a diverse educational setting. Fellows work with current teachers in MCS summer school classrooms, gain experience with lesson planning and may have the opportunity to teach summer school classes.

The MTF Summer Institute consolidates a great deal of training time into only a few weeks; thus, training is extremely demanding. Fellows must attend training five days a week from approximately 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. Due to strict MCS guidelines and the critical role that training plays in the classroom success of Memphis Teaching Fellows, Fellows cannot miss any portion of the Summer Institute. All fellows in good standing will receive a $2,000 (pre-tax) transitional training stipend at the completion of the Summer Institute.

A mandatory Institute Orientation will take place Friday, May 28, 2010, from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at 2597 Avery Avenue Memphis, TN 38112 in the auditorium at the Board of Education. The orientation will provide Fellows with a more thorough understanding of what MTF expects of them, an overview of district hiring policies and what Fellows can expect from the training institute.  Dinner will be provided. The event is mandatory, exemptions for out of town residence will be made on a case-by-case basis. Please reach out with questions or concerns.

 

Teaching for Results - The Tennessee Practitioner Teacher Program

There's never been a more exciting time to become a teacher with Memphis City Schools.   The district's Gates Foundation-funded Teacher Effectiveness Initiative coupled with Tennessee's recent winning application for Race to the Top funding place Memphis at the center of the national education reform movement. 

Central to this movement is a focus on ensuring that every student is taught by an effective teacher, every day, every year. 

The reform agenda of Memphis City Schools is focused on attracting, hiring, developing, retaining and REWARDING top-tier teacher talent in order to close the admittedly daunting, but absolutely surmountable, achievement gap that the district faces.  To do that, MCS is in the midst of a revolutionary and leading-edge shift that will, once fully implemented, better compensate and advance the best teachers in the district.   

That's where Memphis Teaching Fellows come in.

Memphis Teaching Fellows is committed to preparing its Fellows for success.  And success in Memphis City Schools is all about student outcomes - ensuring that kids move forward by leaps and bounds and improve their scholastic and life opportunities in the process.  That's why beginning this year, our 2010 Fellows will be the inaugural class in a new-to-Memphis Practitioner Teacher Program* (PTP) titled Teaching for Results (TfR) that has, in other districts across the country, proven to dramatically and quickly raise student achievement. In fact, in Louisiana, Fellows who completed the Practitioner Teacher Program were found to be more effective at raising student achievement scores in math, reading and language arts than teachers who had been in the classroom longer.

We expect similar results in Memphis.

Here's a quick overview of what the PTP you will participate in means to you if you become a Fellow:

The seminars will take the place of your enrolling in an Teacher Education Program at the University of Memphis and, upon successful completion, will certify you to teach in Tennessee.

* Pending state and district approval

Ongoing Professional Development

A new teacher’s first year is particularly challenging, and Teaching Fellows should anticipate long hours and intense effort, especially during the first semester. As Fellows work in high-need schools, which often have limited resources, candidates are chosen for their ability to solve problems creatively and independently—an important factor in their success and the success of their students.

As new teachers, Fellows have access to several resources. Upon entering the program, while Fellows are responsible for completing necessary requirements set by their certification program, the Fellows program office assists with logistical support, such as helping Fellows manage the process of becoming full MCS employees; program communications, including periodic newsletters; and special events such as professional development meetings and social gatherings. Fellows can also access a support network that includes other district teachers, certification program faculty, and Memphis Teaching Fellows staff.

Fellows often develop their most basic, ongoing support network at the school level. Although every situation is unique, Fellows may collaborate with teachers at their school, school-based instructional facilitators, assistant principals, and principals. School assignment and summer training events facilitate connections among Fellows who often teach the same subjects or are clustered together in particular schools or areas of the city. Teaching Fellows can draw on these connections as a resource for planning, reflection, and shared encouragement as they strive for excellence in their individual classrooms.

Fellows are automatically enrolled in Memphis City Schools “First Steps to Excellence” Teacher Induction Program, a division of MCS’s Curriculum and Instruction Department. “First Steps to Excellence” provides new teachers the catalyst to share best practices and develop professionally. This program supports teachers’ transition to the classroom and Memphis City Schools. The induction program consists of three main components: an intensive three-day summer MCS orientation, participation in a mentoring program, and ongoing professional development and networking opportunities.

Through their certification coursework, Fellows also take a range of courses that help them understand instructional theories and develop the skills they need to drive student success in the classroom.