Accelerated Community to Teacher Application 2022

Teacher Development Pipeline Programs, Office of Recruitment, Cultivation & Diversity Programs

Division of Equity, Strategy and Opportunity Gaps, Boston Public Schools

Background:

The Office of Recruitment, Cultivation & Diversity Programs (RCD) combines talent acquisition and cultivation, pipeline development, and diversity programs to better support candidates and employees from recruitment throughout their careers. RCD is committed to recruiting, hiring, developing, and retaining a racially, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse group of highly effective and culturally proficient teachers and staff members every year. We continue to focus our efforts on three key “levers” for our work: 1) Build and Support Pipelines 2) Cultivation and 3) Develop and Retain employees. These levers remain at the center of our strategy for accelerating student learning. This school year, RCD will significantly scale up and augment its existing programming to meet the high demand and to recruit and develop aspiring and current educators of color.  It will also work in concert with the Equity, Strategy & Opportunity Gaps Division to ensure Systemic Racism is disrupted by providing Strategic Systemic Support, by ensuring Transparent Accountability, and Removing Barriers to Increase the diversity of our school-based and central office staff and leaders.

Overview:

The Accelerated Community to Teacher (ACTT) Program is a part of an overarching strategy to increase the diversity of exemplary educators in the district’s teacher pipeline. ACTT is an intensive 12-month program designed to prepare racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse Boston residents OR BPS paraprofessionals, and substitutes who hold a Bachelor’s degree. 

Candidates will gain knowledge and experience working with children in a classroom setting to become BPS teachers with a provisional license in a single content area including, but not limited to,  Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, or Secondary Mathematics, Science, English, History, or Humanities. Working in a cohort, participants will develop their teaching practice mentored by highly-skilled BPS teachers and community partners through a rigorous, interactive, and hands-on experience.  Participants will prepare a competency-based portfolio in the ACTT pre-practicum. Upon completion of the program, participants are eligible to apply for the Boston Public Schools Teaching Fellowship, a 12-month practicum for first-year teachers to  develop strong instructional practices in actual Boston classrooms, with personalized training and expert coaches to guide them along the way. BPSTF is the only DESE-approved district-based program for initial licenses in  Elementary/ESL, Elementary/Moderate Disabilities, Secondary ESL or Secondary Moderate Disabilities.

Who is Eligible?

• Applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree by June of 2021
• Applicants must demonstrate a passion for teaching in K0-12 settings
• The program does not currently support candidates seeking only Special Education or ESL licensure
• Applicants must reside in Greater Boston 
• (Priority to Boston residents and BPS employees - BPS paraprofessionals or substitute teachers are highly encouraged to apply)
• Applicants must pass a background check via fingerprinting, Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI), and Sex Offender Registry Information (SORI)
• Applicants must demonstrate significant commitment to working with students in an urban setting
• Applicants must be able to fulfill all components of this intensive year-long program (see dates below)
• Applicants who reflect the racial, cultural and linguistic backgrounds of our students are encouraged to apply
• Applicants who wish to be in the Bilingual Educators (BE ACTT) strand must demonstrate written and speaking proficiency in a second language. 

Important Selection dates:

• Round I - Online application and supporting documents due by Tuesday, June 1, 2021
• Round II* - Rolling Virtual Interviews beginning May 20, 2021 (based on invitation)
• Round III* - Follow-up Interviews, as needed
• Cohort Selection Announcement: No later than Tuesday, June 8, 2021             

*Round II and Round III are by invitation only

Course Obligations:

• Attend ACTT Program Orientation on Saturday, June 19, 2021 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (Zoom link will be provided) 
• Attend MTEL Prep courses, beginning in July 2021. Dates TBD based on cohort needs
• (MTEL preparation support will be available during the summer of 2020 and on weekday evenings during the school year for cohort members requiring additional support)
• Must take and pass all appropriate MTELs to complete certification 
• Pre-Practicum Course Schedule: 2-3 Saturdays per month from 9:00am to 3:00pm (December 2021- June 2022)
• Consistent attendance at all ACTT sessions and related program events
• Required 10-12 hour Teacher Moments observations to be completed between February 2022 -May 2022
• Ongoing development and completion of a teaching portfolio
• Participants must hold a preliminary licensure in their subject area by July 1, 2022.

How to Apply?

A complete application is due by 11:59pm on:

• Extended Application Deadline: Tuesday, June 1, 2021

A complete online application includes the following:

1. Resume
2. An official or unofficial undergraduate transcript* showing courses taken in the content area (if applicable) and grades/GPA
3. Short written responses that are clear, concise, and free from grammatical and/or spelling errors
4. Three professional/educational references (Please use this recommendation form).

* If bachelor's degree was earned outside of the US, applicants must submit a US Equivalency Evaluation of their credentials.

PLEASE NOTE: 

All application materials must be received by June 1, 2021 no later than 11:59 pm. If you have questions, please email the selection committee at the following email address diversity-ACTT@bostonpublicschools.org.

Please be prepared to answer the following five short answer questions using the online application.

1. Why do you want to teach in the Boston Public Schools? (200 words maximum) 
2.  What subject area and grade level do you want to teach? Please specify one of the following: Early Childhood (PreK-2), Elementary Education (1-6), Secondary Science, Secondary Math, Secondary ELA/Humanities. 
3. How do your educational background and/or professional experiences inform your decision to teach your subject area? (200 words maximum) 
4. What 2-3 areas do you want to grow as a teacher for which you are seeking support through ACTT?(200 words maximum)
5. Teaching in a diverse, urban school district such as Boston’s requires an awareness of the dynamics of power, privilege, and systemic racism. What experiences have shaped your awareness of these dynamics and inequities? (200 words maximum)