Winston-Salem Teacher Residency Program Fast Tracks New Teachers to Licensure

In 2022, like many districts nationwide, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools (WS/FCS) faced teacher shortages, a high turnover rate, and testing barriers that made it difficult for new teachers to get licensed. The district, which serves more than 49,000 students across 80 schools, gathered feedback from new teachers to determine the root cause of the high turnover rate. It found that many teachers on their way to licensure struggled to meet state testing requirements, complete coursework, and fulfill assignments, all while navigating the demands of being a beginning teacher. 

WS/FCS began to explore solutions to help streamline the pathway to licensure, including creating their own in-house program. By investing in the creation and design of their own district-run educator preparation program (EPP), the district could integrate state requirements into the coursework and provide job-embedded support for new teachers. 

“We’ve got teachers in the building who love what they’re doing,” said Karen Morris, Director of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Teacher Residency Program. “They have bachelor’s degrees and a passion to make a difference in the world, but they’re not yet licensed. Our district is trying to remove those barriers.” 

While the idea of a district-run program was exciting, it was also daunting. There was a state approval process, educator prep coursework, and other program components that needed to be thoughtfully developed. To recruit and retain highly effective and diverse educators who would ensure all students received excellent instruction, WS/FCS needed the strategic advisory support and field-tested coursework that TNTP could offer.

After a neighboring district recommended TNTP, WS/FCS began working with TNTP in April 2022 to leverage the organization’s nearly three decades of expertise in research, policy, and practice to design their new program and apply to run a state-approved EPP.  

WS/FCS and TNTP collaborated closely for eight months to design the program before submitting it to the North Carolina State Board of Education for approval. During this time, TNTP shared best practices from numerous new teacher programs across the country and research that could support WS/FCS in designing a program to meet the needs of their district. Some evidence-based strategies included: 

• Evaluating current hiring needs
• Setting the program vision and goals 
• Designing the foundation for the residency model 
• Creating high-quality, licensure-specific coursework in different content areas 
• Outlining budgetary and staffing needs 
• Planning for program evaluation and sustainability 

Throughout the collaboration, TNTP provided research and insights that helped district leaders make informed decisions and tailor the program to their community. TNTP assisted in creating processes, handbooks, and resources, which set the program up for success. “The broad experience [of TNTP’s consultants] and access to documents saved us incredible amounts of time,” Morris told us. “TNTP’s position as a thought partner helped us prepare for things we would not have considered otherwise.” A cross-departmental task force played a critical role in creating coherence for educators, coordinating the different components of the program so they would align with the state, district, and program requirements for the residency license. 

Once approved by the state in May 2023, the program launched its first cohort in June. After training over the summer, Teacher Residents began their clinical residency. Through a year of rigorous training, personalized support, and classroom teaching, residents built new skills while completing licensure requirements. 

Unlike other EPPs that train teachers of all content areas together, WS/FCS’s Teacher Residency Program included high-quality online classes differentiated by licensure areas. Teacher Residents received training in their specific content areas, like Early Childhood, Special Education, Elementary Education, Middle Grade Math, Middle Grade ELA, and Secondary Science.

The WS/FCS Teacher Residency has become an accelerated, affordable pathway for teacher assistants, substitutes, other WS/FCS employees, and community members to become licensed classroom teachers within one year. The success of the residency program is illustrated in the pass rate of state-required assessments, the hiring rates of residents, and positive feedback from principals in the 41 WS/FCS schools where those residents now teach.

Passing State Assessments

The Teacher Residency Program supports its residents by infusing the portfolio components of the state-required assessment, edTPA, into the residency coursework, which has resulted in improved passing rates. 

In the first cohort of the program, 92% of residents passed the assessment, compared to the statewide average pass rate of 85%. In the second cohort, 100% of residents passed the edTPA.

Preparing New Teachers for the First Day of School

By recruiting educators from within the district and investing in their growth, WS/FCS is developing high-quality teachers who are deeply connected to their local community. All 100% of Teacher Residents who passed the residency program in the first cohort were hired by the first day of school, surpassing the district’s goal of hiring 90% of residents by that time. As of October 2025, 95% of the first cohort, 91% of the second cohort, and 97.5% of the third cohort continue to teach in WS/FCS schools, demonstrating higher retention rates across all three cohorts than the state average of 87% for beginning teachers. 

The WS/FCS Teacher Residency Program set out to prepare residents with the foundational skills necessary to create thriving classrooms and raise achievement for all students. According to surveys of the Teacher Residents in the first cohort: 

• 91.6% agreed that the program prepared them with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful on their first day of school 
• 87% reported using strategies and techniques they had learned from the program in their first three weeks of school 

Positive Feedback from Principals

All of the principals in the 41 schools where residents teach rated the quality of Teacher Residents and their content area knowledge better or much better than other first-year teachers in survey feedback. Furthermore, 100% of principals surveyed said they were willing or very willing to hire additional WS/FCS Teacher Residents in the future.

The excellent results across three short years demonstrate the effectiveness of both the program as an alternate route to licensure and the educators emerging from this program.

The district continues to make data-driven improvements to the program based on student achievement and growth, summative evaluations, licensure assessment pass rates, and survey results from students, parents, teachers, principals, colleagues of new teachers, and the Teacher Residents themselves. 

The WS/FCS Teacher Residency Program has enrolled its third cohort for the 2025–26 school year and has become the preferred educator pathway for residents and principals in the district.

Contact TNTP to learn more about how we can support your district to build educator preparation programs or alternate pathways to licensure.