The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) invites aspiring teachers to apply to the third cohort of the Mississippi Teacher Residency (MTR), which is a two-year program that combines college coursework and on-the-job training to prepare prospective educators for the teaching profession.

The application will be released on December 18, 2020, and will close on February 5, 2021.

The MTR program is a collaboration among the MDE, selected university and district partnerships, and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, which funds the initiative. It is part of a statewide strategy to expand and diversify the teaching workforce so all students have teachers who are well-prepared, appropriately licensed, and can serve as role models.

Each teacher resident will receive a full degree scholarship to an MTR-sponsored university, support for required licensure examinations, one-on-one teacher mentors, and ongoing professional development throughout the program’s duration.

Teacher residents will complete an elementary education and special education degree program while working alongside an experienced teacher mentor in one of four participating districts. Partner districts include Gulfport School District, Jackson Public Schools, Ocean Springs School District, and Sunflower County Consolidated School District.

The MTR program supports individuals who want to become teachers but are not currently enrolled in an educator preparation program. MTR applicants must have an associate degree or at least 60 college credits from a degree program with a minimum 2.75 grade point average. Men and women of color, military veterans, and junior college graduates are strongly encouraged to apply.

The application can be found beginning Friday, December 18, 2020, at mdek12.org/OTL/MTR.

The application deadline is February 5, 2021. For more information, contact Dr. Courtney Van Cleve at [email protected].