Support

Support from Public Funders

Boston Public Schools

As a district-based program, BTR receives a significant amount of support from the Boston Public Schools (BPS), through both yearly funding and close collaboration with the offices of Human Resources; Curriculum & Instruction; and Research, Assessment & Evaluation. The continued support from the district has enabled BTR to innovate and grow in response to district needs — for instance, launching an ESL track for school year 2009-2010 to best serve the district’s rapidly growing population of English Language Learners. It also means that placement decisions, mentor matching and host school preparation for BTR Teacher Residents are determined through a coherent process of work in partnership with BPS administration and school leaders. This close relationship has existed and deepened since BTR’s inception, so that BTR Residents and graduates have extensive knowledge of and support from the district at all levels.

AmeriCorps

As an AmeriCorps grantee, BTR has become recognized as a national model of service to the community. Funding from the AmeriCorps program not only allows BTR to offer its Residents a stipend, health insurance and childcare reimbursement for the entirety of their residency year, but the partnership also means that BTR receives technical assistance and guidance from national and state leaders in strategies for in-depth policy, advocacy and capacity-building to achieve its mission.

United States Department of Education

BTR is honored to have a United States Department of Education five-year Transition to Teaching (TTT) grant, which provides funding to continue recruitment, development and support of high-quality teachers for BPS — and to ensure that focused induction work and school transformation efforts sustain graduates as teachers and teacher-leaders in the district for years to come. The TTT program has been instrumental in supporting such programs across the country, and has increased recognition of BTR’s importance to teacher development efforts while also enabling them to expand and deepen programmatic offerings for Residents and graduates each year.

Support from Private and Family Foundations

Boston Plan for Excellence

BTR is managed through a tight partnership between the Boston Plan for Excellence (BPE) and Boston Public Schools. Established in 1984, BPE is a local education foundation dedicated to improving the city’s public schools. In close partnership with the BPS, the organization works to strengthen instruction in all classrooms. The independence and strength of BPE ensures an important measure of accountability for BTR. In partnership with the district, BPE has raised more than $60 million since 1996 from local and national funders and has overseen major grants from the Annenberg Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Wallace-Reader’s Digest Funds, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education, as well as dozens of smaller grants from various funders. BPE is consistently chosen by national and local foundations as the fiscal manager of their grants to BPS.

Strategic Grant Partners

A coalition of family foundations working on behalf of education and families throughout Massachusetts, Strategic Grant Partners (SGP) provided the foundation for BTR’s establishment in 2003 and has been a continued source of significant support. SGP works closely with BTR on organizational management and strategic planning initiatives, in addition to providing general technical assistance.

Barr Foundation

Committed to enhancing the lives of all Boston residents through educational and environmental improvements, the Barr Foundation has been a longtime supporter of BTR’s work. This year, the Foundation honored BTR Director Jesse Solomon as a Barr Fellow in recognition of his achievements on behalf of Boston’s children and schools.

Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation

With a focus on recruitment, marketing and outreach, support from the Smith Family Foundation has led to essential improvements in the recruitment and admissions pipeline for BTR, ensuring that the program attracts and retains high-quality candidates who meet the needs of the Boston Public Schools.

W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation

One of the first supporters of residency programs, the Stone Foundation has given BTR the ability to develop and implement a robust mentoring curriculum, to build capacity in partner schools and to recruit cohorts that fill BPS needs — particularly in the areas of math, science, special education and ESL.

Braitmayer Foundation

Funding from the Braitmayer Foundation has enabled BTR to invest in quality improvements for its mentoring program, working with host schools to build capacity for the support of Resident/mentor pairs and site directors.

Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust

A longtime local BTR supporter, the Pierce Trust’s funding has allowed BTR to intensify and expand recruitment strategies in high-needs areas, especially math and science, and to deepen relationships with partner and host schools to support Residents and graduates.

Motorola Foundation

Another supporter of residency programs nationwide, the Motorola Foundation has provided BTR with the tools to attract and engage high-level math and science candidates for BPS, while also focusing on grantee collaboration to intensify such efforts in programs across the country.

Cabot Family Charitable Trust

The Cabot Family Trust, a Boston-based funder, has given BTR the ability to create effective school partnerships while also increasing the program’s focus on student achievement and teacher effectiveness.

Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation’s continued support of Urban Teacher Residency United (UTRU) has drawn attention to the residency model across the country, and enabled the codification of residency accountability standards. Ford funding for BTR has also increased the program’s evaluation capabilities, allowing BTR to assess Residents’ and graduates’ effectiveness over time.

Carnegie Corporation of New York

Support from the Carnegie Corporation, aimed at increasing the graduation rates for all BPS students, has allowed BTR to strengthen the teacher development pipeline for the district and to improve the level and quality of support to Residents and graduates.