VCU news

By Brian McNeill

U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. will visit Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School in Richmond on Wednesday to highlight the Richmond Teacher Residency program.

The Richmond Teacher Residency program — a partnership between Richmond Public Schools and the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education — is a highly competitive graduate teacher residency program that recruits, prepares and supports teachers, preparing them to meet the distinct challenges of urban school systems.

“Secretary King's visit highlights how federal dollars are being used to transform the preparation of teachers for our most challenged schools,” said Therese A. Dozier, Ed.D., director of the Richmond Teacher Residency program. “It affirms the innovative work that the VCU School of Education is doing in partnership with Richmond Public Schools through the Richmond Teacher Residency program to prepare highly effective urban teachers who are committed to the students of RPS for the long term.”

King will visit Elkhardt-Thompson Middle School, located at 7825 Forest Hill Ave., at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

He will be joined by VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D.; VCU School of Education Dean Andrew Daire, Ph.D.; and Richmond Public Schools Associate Superintendent of Academic Services Andrea Kane, Ed.D.

The U.S. Department of Education recently published regulations to help strengthen teacher preparation by ensuring that new teachers are ready to succeed in the classroom and that every student is taught by a great educator. The regulations aim to bring transparency to the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs, provide programs with ongoing feedback to help them improve continuously, and respond to educators across the country who do not feel ready to enter the classroom after graduation.

As part of his visit, King will talk informally with a group of Richmond Teacher Residency graduates, residents and mentor teachers. He will also visit classrooms to see Richmond Teacher Residency teachers in action. He will also hold a question-and-answer session with the news media.

Richmond Teacher Residency is funded through a U.S. Department of Education Teacher Quality Partnership grant.