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 is a shortage of aspiring teachers going into the fields of Education and Special Education. Our Executive Director Tamara Schiern recognized it has become a challenge for districts to find qualified teachers for our special education classrooms and applied for and received this grant in the spring of the 2021/2022 school year. This grant will result in a WSGV SELPA Teacher Residency Program which will train new Special Education Teachers.

Aspiring teachers will 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 currently in its planning and development year and is actively recruiting Mentor Teachers and aspiring Special Education candidates. Under the leadership of the Coordinator of the Teacher Residency Grant, Jill Gulick, the program will launch June 2023 with its initial cohort of Resident Teachers.