News & Updates

As we head into the last quarter of the school-year, we wanted to take a moment to share with you one of our major wins from 2024: the successful launch of our Teacher Leadership Program (TLP). Piloted in 2023-24, and officially launched this year, the TLP allows us to build a strong bench of mentor teachers at our partner schools while increasing the teaching efficacy of second-stage teachers.

STLTR is now halfway through our fifth year, which means our first cohorts of residents are now well into their careers as classroom teachers. This has allowed us to intentionally recruit these former residents to come back and work with us again, this time as mentors themselves. We have found that when our mentors are already intimately acquainted with our model and have recently completed the residency experience, they can provide even more valuable feedback, support, and empathy. 

For the past five years, STLTR has partnered with the National Center for Teacher Residencies’ Black Educators Initiative (BEI), to intentionally recruit and develop more Black educators for our city and our students. Launched in 2021, STLTR’s BEI program focuses on removing financial barriers for participants pursuing a career in the classroom, expanding opportunities for more candidates, like Donna, to enter the profession. Through this program, BEI cohort members have the opportunity to receive their teaching certification and Master’s degree at no cost, plus an additional stipend during their apprenticeship.

This Spring, our inaugural cohort finished their first academic year as lead-teachers! Our residents reflected on their experiences during their Capstone Oral Defenses, the culminating task from the year-long Capstone Seminar, part of their Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning at Washington University.

As we close the chapter on the 2019-20 school-year, it is difficult to describe our work and experiences over the last four months as anything other than - unprecedented. Like so many of our colleagues in the education community, we have been working hard to ensure that our teachers are well-supported and that the students they serve continue to grow and feel connected to their learning communities. While our circumstances have changed, our work has continued, and our commitment to our mission to recruit and develop excellent educators for the students in St. Louis is unwavering.  We are proud to share the unprecedented work of our staff, teachers and residents with you here.

We are excited to spotlight mentor teacher Harmony Bell. Harmony teaches 6th and 7th grade writing at North Side Community School. She is originally from St. Louis, and has been teaching for 15 years.

This quarter we are spotlighting Marlene Traub, a second-year resident who teaches English/Language Arts at AESM Middle School in St. Louis Public Schools. Originally from Chicago, Marlene joined St. Louis Teacher Residency after graduating from University of Kansas, where she studied Psychology and German.

This quarter we are spotlighting first-year resident Desiree Buchannan, who is developing her skills as an elementary school teacher at partner school KIPP Wisdom Academy. Desiree is from Champaign, IL. Before she joined St. Louis Teacher Residency she was working in the insurance industry.