Montana Teacher Residency Demonstration Project

The Montana Teacher Residency Demonstration Project prepares teachers to best serve their students. Through undergraduate coursework, the teacher-leader academy, targeted support, and a yearlong apprenticeship in the classroom, residents connect theory to practice and gain the skills of highly effective practitioners who will be ready on day one to successfully lead their own classrooms. 

Residents begin the program with a two-week summer institute, then enter a one-year in-school apprenticeship under a teacher-leader. During the year, residents engage in summits sponsored by the Office of Public Instruction while simultaneously completing coursework to earn a bachelor’s degree from their Montana university. In exchange for committing to teach in a high-needs rural Montana school district for two years, residents receive a stipend, partial tuition support, and district-provided housing.

At each residency site, teams of educators work together to support one another. The project aims to place at least two residents with two teacher-leaders in each school. The project will launch in fall 2022 with a minimum of eight demonstration schools, 16 resident teachers, and 16 teacher-leaders.

The Montana Teacher Residency Demonstration Project is the first program of its kind in the state. The project was co-developed by representatives from the Montana University System, the Office of Public Instruction, school districts, the Montana School Boards Association, legislators, and residency model experts from Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. The Region 17 Comprehensive Center has facilitated many think-tank sessions since October 2021.