Alder Teacher Residency Program

The West San Gabriel Valley SELPA is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $250,000 grant from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop a teacher residency credential program with the goal of bringing additional qualified special education teachers to our member districts. Due to the COVID pandemic and other factors, there was and continues to be a shortage of aspiring teachers going into the fields of Education and Special Education. Our Executive Director Tamara Schiern recognized the challenge for districts to find qualified teachers for our special education classrooms. WSGV SELPA applied for and received this grant in the spring of the 2021/2022 school year. The program launched June 2023 with its initial cohort of Resident Teachers, under the leadership of the Coordinator of the Teacher Residency Grant, Jill Gulick. This grant created the WSGV SELPA Teacher Residency Program, which is currently training new Special Education Teachers.

Aspiring teachers apprentice four days a week with an expert/mentor teacher and work within a cohort to master academic content in collaboration with Alder Graduate School of Education. At the end of the year, the aspiring teachers will earn a Special Education credential in the area of Mild to Moderate Disabilities and a Master’s degree in Education. This program is actively recruiting Residents and Mentor Teachers for the 2024/2025 cohort.