Education and Business Coalition Receives Nearly $6.5 Million for Teacher Training
The Public Education & Business Coalition has announced grants totaling $6.47 million from the Denver-based Boettcher Foundation and the Colorado Department of Education in support of an intensive teacher training residency program that combines master's level coursework with hands-on learning in a classroom.
The grants — $5 million over five years from the Boettcher Foundation and $1.47 million over two years from CDE — will support the expansion of PEBC's Colorado Boettcher Teacher Residency initiative into current and new partner districts that historically have struggled to recruit and retain new teachers, especially those in rural areas. Earlier this year, CBTR partnered with Adams State University in Alamosa to launch its first rural residency cohort in the San Luis Valley, a region where more than 70 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. CBTR is recruiting locally to retain effective teachers in areas where the need is especially high.
CBTR will expand its reach to additional school districts in southern Colorado, including Alamosa School District RE-11J, Center Consolidated School District 26JT, Crowley County School District RE-1J (Ordway), Durango School District 9-R, East Otero School District R-1 (La Junta), Huerfano School District RE-1 (Walsenburg), Ignacio School District 11-JT, Monte Vista School District, Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1, and North Conejos School District RE-1J. The districts were selected based on poverty level, interest, and geographic location. To date, the Boettcher Foundation has invested $15 million in the initiative.
"For nearly ten years, the Colorado Boettcher Teacher Residency has developed a network of well-trained, effective educators who have made a tremendous impact in our Colorado schools," said Boettcher Foundation president and executive director Tim Schultz. "We are pleased to continue our support of the residency, so it can continue its legacy of success and prepare and retain teachers in the Colorado communities that need them most."
