Outcomes for Early Career Teachers Prepared through a Pilot Residency Program in Louisiana

Louisiana's Believe and Prepare pilot program, supported by grants from the Louisiana Department of Education, aimed to prepare teacher candidates or in-service teachers through a residency with a mentor and a competency-based curriculum. To improve teacher preparation and teacher residencies, state and teacher education leaders in Louisiana sought to better understand the early career outcomes for participants in the pilot program. This study analyzed data for the three cohorts that participated in the program between 2014/15 and 2016/17. A majority (76 percent) of pilot participants were enrolled in a university-based teacher preparation program. The study examined certification, employment, and retention outcomes for a subset of pilot participants who were teacher candidates or early career teachers (together referred to as early career Believe and Prepare pilot participants). About 30 percent of early career Believe and Prepare pilot participants who attained a Level 1 professional certificate in 2015/16-2017/18 were certified in a high-need subject, as defined by the Louisiana Department of Education (middle grades math and science, secondary math and science, or special education), and 28 percent of participants who entered teaching in 2015/16-2018/19 taught in a high-need subject in their first year of teaching. Early career pilot program participants who completed a residency in a primary school were more likely than those who completed a residency in a nonprimary school to attain a Level 1 professional certificate. Participants who completed a residency in a charter school were less likely than those who completed a residency in a noncharter school to attain a Level 1 professional certificate. (Louisiana does not require Level 1 certifications for charter schools.) Of early career Believe and Prepare teachers who entered teaching in 2015/16-2017/18, 89 percent were retained in the state for a second year, 76 percent were retained in the same district, and 71 percent were retained in the same school. Among these teachers the within-state retention rate was lowest for teachers in high-need subjects, and the within-school retention rate was lowest for secondary and middle grades math and science teachers.