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WS/FC Schools plans new teacher residency program

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is the state's fourth largest school system. KERI BROWN/WFDD

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools is partnering with a national group to create a program that will serve as a teacher pipeline to help address shortages in the district and increase diversity.

The school board recently approved a contract with New-York based TNTP, formerly known as the New Teacher Project. The same group helped Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools implement a similar initiative.

The organization will work with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to create a teacher residency program. The accelerated one-year experience will provide hands-on learning and serve as an affordable and alternative pathway for licensure in the state.

Recruitment will focus on those in the Winston-Salem and Forsyth County areas. Educators in the program will teach in places with the highest need, including general elementary, secondary math and science, and special education.

"It's going to help us with any misconceptions people have when they come on about what teaching is going to be," says Tina Lupton, the executive director of teacher effectiveness with the district. "And it just helps us streamline the experience and expectations that teachers have.“

Lupton says the district will submit its teacher residency program to the state Department of Public Instruction, which will have to approve the plan.

Funds for the teacher residency will come from a more than $250,000 federal grant. It's expected to officially begin in summer 2023.

Currently, the district has around 140 teacher vacancies.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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