UNM’s College of Education and Human Sciences is continuing its work to provide experienced educators for New Mexican students. One program in particular is already showcasing positive benefits.   

The District Partner Teacher Residency program (DPTR) partners with local school districts and charter schools to identify the licensure areas they need for teachers. Then the DPTR recruits current education students, along with others who already have bachelor’s degrees, to join the teacher residency and become teachers. 

The state provides a $35,000 stipend for students in the one-year residency program. During that year, residents take their education classes in addition to being in the classroom full-time while being mentored by a highly qualified co-teacher.  

After that year, residents receive their teaching licenses and are hired by their residency school districts or charter schools. The residents commit to staying with that district or charter school for at least three years.  

"That just shows the high need that we have for special education teachers. If people want to be teachers, we have a lot of support for them to do so.” 

– Director of Licensure Marjori Krebs

Director of Licensure Marjori Krebs, Ed.D., said very few states have this type of living wage stipend statewide that is provided by the State Legislature. 

Every year, residents, co-teachers, and principals are surveyed to gauge how well the program benefits everyone involved in this program. “Our residents have said this program prepares them well for their first year of teaching. Their supervisors and observers say they are so prepared that they aren’t acting like first-year educators,” Krebs said.  

In 2022, Sen. Natalie Figueroa and Rep. Debra Sariñana were two of the authors of the legislative bill that funded the stipend for the residency program. Both were educators prior to working in the government.  

On Tuesday, Nov. 18, Sen. Figueroa visited Eldorado High School to observe the program in action. She spoke with the mentors, residents, principals, and APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey about the results they were seeing from the residency. 

“They are getting a varied basket of tools, and the level of confidence in the residents is not something I’ve seen before in student teachers,” Figueroa said. “New Mexico is a leader across the nation in our investment in teacher residencies. But to claim leadership, we need the data to back it up.” 

There are eight higher education institutions across New Mexico participating in the residency. There are about 370 teacher residents currently, with UNM boasting 108 of those residents.  

Krebs said the APS partnership has an 80% retention rate for students over three years. Nationwide, that number is about 50%. She says that when students are well prepared and enter through a residency, they do tend to stay. 

“DPTR focuses on training teachers to have the confidence and the skills for the whole cycle of the school year, how to establish routines and build relationships all the way through final exams,” Figueroa said. “It lessens the likelihood that they will leave teaching or struggle so much in the first three years." 

The DPTR also has a special education partnership with Rio Rancho Public Schools and APS which allows those with a bachelor’s degree a to get a full teacher salary which is over $55,000, health benefits, a year toward retirement, and graduate tuition during their residency year. 

“That just shows the high need that we have for special education teachers,” Krebs said. “If people want to be teachers, we have a lot of support for them to do so.” 

Applications for next year are now open and available online. “We’d love to have people who are interested in being teachers,” Krebs said. “If you have a bachelor’s degree, that’s great. If you don’t, we will get you on that path and then during your senior year you could be a resident as well.”