VCU RTR Teacher Residency Program is training next generation of educators

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Kaitlynn Stephenson is preparing for her future job as a teacher by working as a teacher. Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is training the next generation of teachers through its RTR Teacher Residency program.

Stephenson put her dreams of becoming a teacher on hold when she became a young mother. She decided to pursue her passions after learning about VCU’s RTR program while working as an instructional assistant at Ettrick Elementary School. She is expecting to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in special education.

Through the two-year program, Stephenson works alongside a mentor teacher with whom she spends the entire year, gaining real-life skills.

This year, she is working with Laura Williams, a special education teacher at Ettrick Elementary School.

(Photos: Kaitlynn Stephenson)

(Photos: Kaitlynn Stephenson)

(Photos: Kaitlynn Stephenson)

“I think the RTR Program is really unique,” Williams said. “The residents come and they start the year with me. They get to see how we set up the classroom, any organization things that we do ahead of time [and] how to start the year by setting up rituals and routines.”

Stephenson said that, typically, residents will have the same mentor during both years in the program. Her case is different because her original mentor, who is a RTR graduate, took on a new role within the county.

According to Stephenson, her current teacher has decades of experience. She said she feels lucky to experience a variety of perspectives within education.

“Ms. Williams, who I’m working with now -- she’s a CoLab teacher,” Stephenson said. “So we work closely with a general education teacher.”

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The school day at Ettrick Elementary is 9:05 a.m. to 3:55 p.m. -- though Stephenson said she typically arrives at 8 a.m. to set up for the day and gather planning materials. After school, Stephenson and Williams go over what went well and what could have gone better.

“We do a lot of collaboration and a lot of talking,” Williams said. “'How did that lesson go?' 'How can we change it to be better if we need to?'”

Even when the work is hard, Stephenson said she wouldn't change a thing.

“There are days when I’m exhausted -- I have a 6-month-old, [and] last year, I went through this program pregnant with a newborn," Stephenson said. "But coming in every morning and seeing these kids’ faces -- you just have to come in with a positive attitude and they make that so easy.”

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Stephenson’s current goal is to get into the classroom. She said she feels very prepared to teach on her own.