Go cover seventh grade science. Take this morning’s planning period to substitute for an eighth grade classroom. You’re needed down the hall. Try and catch up on your lunch, maybe you won’t have to prep outside of school.
Parents will email you at 10 p.m., expecting a response at 10 p.m. But set boundaries. Students will undoubtedly ask a question about the quiz tomorrow, after midnight.
Also, you’re going to form bonds you never saw coming. Your building is your family. Get to know your students. This will be a rewarding ride.
Madison Metcalfe could explain all the different directions she was pulled as a new teacher. The University of Delaware graduate is set to step into her first academic year as an official member of Appoquinimink School District faculty this fall — but the 22-year-old has already helped lead a classroom for an entire year.
“Trying to cater to everyone but not at my own expense was something that I really learned,” she said. “I also learned how to manage a middle school classroom where the kids are evolving.”
The Delaware native has started planning how she’ll manage her time next year, setting expectations early. She knows what it’s like to teach sixth grade, where “they’re all having new feelings, they’re dealing with hormones and they’re coming into their own.”
She has felt the strain of a teacher shortage.
And it’s the very challenge programs like hers are aiming to combat.
Delaware teacher residency programs are getting students like Metcalfe into school district classrooms for one year, while the students earn a stipend as they teach and learn. In step with national strategies, it looks to resemble a medical residency model that leaves teachers more prepared for real classrooms than typical weekslong student teaching. And these programs see students commit to teaching in their districts for three years beyond residency.
It’s a model taking hold across the state.
Delaware Technical Community College is launching its first residency program in public schools this fall. Wilmington University’s College of Education has offered a year-long residency since 2014. The state’s largest university officially kicked off its program in 2020 — and now, the University of Delaware is stepping away from the first year in classrooms without pandemic interruption.
“We are still in this turbulent, after-pandemic time,” said Maya Constantine, associate director of residencies with the University of Delaware. “When our residents go into that first year after the residency, they feel way more prepared than their peers that have done other versions of in-the-classroom training.”
The First State has been strapped with a teacher shortage long before COVID-19 shutdowns. In July, Delaware actually led nationwide statistics from the U.S. Department of Education in progress toward returning to pre-pandemic workforce. At 5.1% growth in public school staffing, it joined just two other states with any positive growth over pre-pandemic figures.
The Delaware Department of Education was unable to provide staffing level data ahead of the 2023-24 school year, citing a lag as it remains in “hiring season.” Last year, Delaware public schools had more than 500 open positions, or about 5% of educator jobs statewide, by fall’s start.
Constantine thinks the residency model will mark a new standard. And, she anticipates her program will double by next year.
“I want to say that at some point, all student teaching is going to change to residency,” she said.
“That three-year stay in Delaware after the residency is a holdup for some people, but we’ve had residents from out-of-state do it; some of these residents have stayed on past three years and are now just part of the community at the district. And that’s super exciting to see.”
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So what is residency actually like?
Madison Metcalfe’s first day came in a room full of teachers, before UD’s students even made it back to campus.
Opening day back in the summer of 2022 allowed her to meet nearly all the educators in her new Everett Meredith Middle School home, not far from where she was born and raised. Nerves and excitement carried through to the first day students walked inside.
“But I got to talk to people,” she recalled, soon co-teaching several classes with a mentor educator. “And that very first day with students, I knew it was the place for me to be. I made connections with kids that very first day, the very first week, that ended up lasting the whole school year.”
Students could hear about the teacher residency program as early as high school, as university leaders hope to expand recruiting efforts, but now it likely may be junior year. That’s when Metcalfe applied, looking to finish her bachelor’s degree with the experience, and a paycheck.
Another arm allows STEM education students to complete a master’s, rounding out a five-year program. Regardless, students must have grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher. From 2020 to 2022, these cohorts have averaged about 17 students, according to the university, and about 24% students of color.
It all starts with a summer professional development institute in August and continues until the last day of school. As the University of Delaware explains it, its residency program “blends a rigorous full-year classroom apprenticeship for pre-service teachers with a carefully aligned sequence of academic coursework.”
Translation: It’s no easy lift.
“I was taking 15 credits while also teaching a classroom with support from the mentor teacher, but I was the lead teacher in every class,” Metcalfe said. “So, it’s hard to balance it, but you have to be able to surround yourself with people who will keep you grounded.”
Metcalfe didn’t live on campus, so commuting was never a challenge. But she couldn’t say the same about leaving work behind.
“My biggest advice to someone who would do this is to have really good friends who will support you and keep you on that path where you’re not putting too much of yourself into it,” she said, echoing her calls to close the laptop sometimes, stop checking those emails late at night, make time for a senior year.
“Being around kids all day, having to be like another parent, another support system to them can be exhausting. There’s teacher burnout everywhere. But having a night or a full day to just relax, keeps you grounded.”
She credits her friends, support system and fellow teachers for still making lasting memories — while also getting prepared with reality.
“The residency program was the best thing I could have done for my teacher preparation,” Metcalfe said. “I didn’t spend one day a week in the classroom for a whole semester; I spent every single day in that classroom. And I got to experience what it’s like to be the teacher all year round.”
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Challenges aren’t going anywhere
Metcalfe was finishing up her classroom decorations for the year ahead. She hopes to start every class she can with a mental break.
“Not everything that’s going on in a student’s life can be seen just by looking at them; you have to really get to know your students,” said the now-social studies teacher for sixth grade. “Taking the time, even if it’s just having them come in and take not even a minute breathing session.”
Her first year post-residency is just days away. Metcalfe will stay in Appoquinimink two more years thanks to the program, with no immediate plans to change course after that.
Delaware is reaching for more success stories.
This year the state funded roughly a 9% pay increase for public school teachers, first proposed by Gov. John Carney in January, while the average starting salary for a teacher in Delaware was just over $45,000. Maryland posts $48,510, while set to increase to $60,000 by summer 2026. New Jersey’s average starting teaching salary is $54,053; Pennsylvania’s, $46,991. Carney also increased opportunity funding, headed to lower-income students and English learners, alongside more funds for the coming Wilmington Learning Collaborative.
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The General Assembly planted focus on school safety this year, as well as legislation strengthening pipelines for paraprofessional educators, while other “grow your own” programs throughout the state hope to soften the blow of a continued shortage. One DDOE spokesperson said the department is “hearing anecdotally from HR directors” that there are fewer openings than last year.
The pandemic interruption has only sharpened concern.
“Honestly, we just need more teachers,” Metcalfe put it simply.
“We need teachers who are ready and are willing to put in the time and the effort for these kids. Yes, after COVID their behaviors changed — but that makes the need for good teachers even more prominent.”
Kelly Powers covers race, culture and equity for the USA TODAY Network’s Northeast Region and Delaware Online, with a focus on education. Contact her at kepowers@gannett.com or (231) 622-2191, and follow her on Twitter @kpowers01.
