2020 Annual Conference

teacher development, induction, training, alternative certification, content, curriculum, achievement gap, student experience, standards

Presentation/concurrent session

Curriculum Instruction
Coaching/Mentoring
Instruction in the Classroom

TNTP has broken the mold of teacher development with the Roots LA Teaching Pathway, offering college juniors from Los Angeles the opportunity to train to become teachers and earn a job offer before their senior year. While traditional teacher preparation programs focus on educational theory and alternative certification routes emphasize heavy-handed management practices, research shows that prospective educators need to be able to deeply engage students in grade-appropriate assignments and have high expectations for mastery.  For this reason, Roots LA disrupts the conventional notions of teacher development by immersing its diverse recruits in content-specific standards and practices, while also deepening their understanding of the achievement gap and the local Los Angeles context. During their training, Fellows receive daily coaching, feedback, and professional development as they turnkey these concepts in classrooms where they support students to meet grade-level standards during summer school. Attendees of this session will not only examine research on the four essential resources that students need in their daily school experiences but will also explore how Roots LA training tools and content across four major strands of learning address these resources. Additionally, participants will learn about the program’s history, lessons learned, and pain points around sustainability to bring a version of Roots to their organizations.

Human Resources Administrators
Faculty
Interns/New Teachers/Residents