The St. Louis Teacher Residency, a partner of The Opportunity Trust, was recently highlighted by Washington University for its innovative approach to improving local teacher quality and retention. The residency was formed to address low teacher retention in St. Louis, where 40% of new teachers exit the classroom within their first three years. The St. Louis Teach Residency is designed to successfully prepare residents for a continued career in urban education by blending a rigorous full-year classroom apprenticeship with a carefully aligned academic coursework sequence. Residents become assets to their schools, committing to teach at a partner school or district for three years following their apprenticeship.

The Opportunity Trust is proud to support The St. Louis Teacher Residency as part of our larger strategy to ensure St. Louis has the necessary teacher and school leadership talent, and that talent is strategically deployed to transform schools. We have invested in the launch and scale of the St. Louis Teacher Residency, and to date, the program has placed 73 teachers in high-needs classrooms in local public schools.