Regina Roberts – Principal
My experience in the Chicago Teacher Residency prepared me to be a teacher and cultivated me to become a school leader. As a resident with prior classroom experience, members of my cohort sought my feedback on their lesson plans and instruction. I was even called upon to mediate conflicts among members and help guide my resident partner towards his passion – all responsibilities befitting a principal. My journey in AUSL’s CTR program came full circle when I was hired 13 years after graduating the program to lead the organization’s first school. AUSL’s CTR program was valuable in introducing me to an extensive network critical to my professional growth and development, and more importantly, facilitating lifelong friendships and connections.

Terrence Murphy – Diverse Learner Teacher
As I was transitioning from the business field to education, AUSL became the avenue of my change in path. The CTR program provided a principle foundation of what an effective teacher, principle, & school should resemble. The CTR also outlined a roadmap of instructional methods and strategies as well as a learning environment to practice these strategies. The residency program allowed us to have a place to learn and grow as an educator. AUSL provided a portrait to the educational landscape along with a set of values to guide my teaching. I am grateful for the opportunity to be an alumni of the CTR program.

Chelsea Bennett – Primary Diverse Learner Teacher (k-2)
AUSL’s CTR program helped me realize my potential to be an excellent educator. Prior to joining the AUSL CTR, I volunteered in an AUSL school where residents were training to be teachers. During my time at this school, I was encouraged by staff and administration to join the residency program, and in seeing the CTRs dedication to the residents before me I decided that I wanted to be a part of the residency program.

As I entered the residency program, through continued coaching and mentoring the CTR helped me develop my own unique teaching style and the confidence necessary to lead my own classroom and make an impact in the school. Since graduating, the CTR has provided me with the opportunity to mentor new residents as they navigate their own teaching practice, while also allowing me the space to further develop and perfect my educational practice.

Teresa Chavez – Assistant Principal, CPS

During my time with AUSL CTR I was surrounded by people who were not only talented but strived to enhance their practice at every and any opportunity – this mindset was contagious.

With AUSL, I was able to gain skills that allowed me to be efficient and creative in the classroom – this in turn allowed me to teach rigorous instruction that helped my students meet grade level benchmarks year after year. After my residency, AUSL continued to provide professional development that enhanced my skills, building my capacity as a teacher and as a leader.

I would like to thank AUSL’s CTR Program for believing in the idea that the toughest schools deserve the best teachers, then going out to make the seemingly impossible possible because all children can learn and will learn given the right support, love and expectations – this is what I learned from AUSL CTR.

Taissa Lau – 8th Grade Science, Tarkington School of Excellence

I would, without a doubt, not be where I am today without the opportunities the AUSL CTR provided me. During my residency year with the CTR, I was able to train full time alongside my mentor teacher where I was able to practice teaching strategies and learn best practices to provide a high-quality education to all students. The AUSL program allowed me to expand my network of colleagues who supported me in my growth and pushed my own personal practices to become the most effective educator I can be.

My fondest memory of working with students comes from while I was in the residency program. At the end of my residency year, I was presented with multiple gifts from my homeroom class. They had taken into consideration my love for soccer and personally designed and signed a USA soccer team shirt for me with personal message wishing me luck in my future teaching career, purchased my favorite soccer player’s jersey, signed a personalized image for me, and included a package of first year teaching supplies.

Jessica Kimbrough – Associate Director-Chicago Teacher Residency

I began my teaching career with the CTR as resident in 2013. Throughout this time I participated in hours of professional development to learn with and from my colleagues. I have grown as a teacher leader in mentoring and coaching from the building level to now, within, the larger program. As I look to continue making contributions to public education, I am grateful for the learning and experiences I have had from AUSL and the CTR.

My reason for doing this work lies in Room 204 at Dvorak, I spent about 1,056 days in that classroom. Room 204 is just one classroom from the stairs right above Central Park. In the 8,448 hours spent in my classroom, I was able to create a safe learning space. Teaching special education offered me the unique experience of teaching the same group of students for more than one year, sometimes even three years!
The time I spent in room 204 making mistakes and learning with my students changed my life and created my reason, the reason I will always go return to.

Demetrius Heard – Arts Curriculum Designer – Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Digital Learning for Chicago Public Schools

As a resident, I was given the unique opportunity to immerse myself in teaching, from classroom management strategies and teacher moves, to power instructional practices that I got to engage with everyday in real life with real students gave. This sparked a confidence in me that carries over to how I approach teaching and learning with my students and in my current role. The CTR also provided me with the ability to coach colleagues by being able to identify and draw from a variety of strategies learned as a CTR resident.

As a CTR resident, I got the opportunity to assist my mentor teacher in the development of the school choir, and took that experience with me as I developed my own choir program at my school. If it hadn’t been for AUSL and the CTR, my students would have never had those opportunities to showcase their artistic abilities on such a grand stage.

Greta Kringle – High School Science Teacher

The AUSL CTR program provided me a community and support network to guide me through my first years of teaching. I leaned on and learned from my co-residents, other AUSL teachers and mentors in that training year and still to this day. During our training year, I remember gaining so much from debriefing our common experiences and challenges from the week in our Friday classes. The model is set up well to give teachers in training realistic experience in the field and time to actually process and reflect on lessons learned. I often wish I still had this model for my week – because there is still so much in this work to process and reflect on.

After the residency year, I was still involved in the AUSL community and totally revamped the way I thought about teaching science by working with the AUSL Science Specialist. Over the years of collaboration with other AUSL science educators and implementing phenomena-based curriculum, we have a much more engaging and authentic science curriculum. I appreciate the continued flow of resources and collaboration offered through the CTR community.

Leah Guenther – Middle School ELA teacher, Dewey School of Excellence

I am passionate about language arts, and I have a great deal of knowledge about literature, grammar, vocabulary, and writing. But people don’t realize–until they’re standing in front of 35 young people–that neither your passion nor your depth of knowledge will make you a good public school teacher. What matters before passion or content knowledge is your classroom management, your ability to create engaging lessons, your willingness to respond to student interest and ability and mood.

I learned all of these things by working for a year under an amazing mentor through AUSL’s CTR program. Without that critical year of training I am positive that I would not have made it past the first year of being a teacher. Fortunately, I had that support, and, for that reason alone, I am lucky enough to still be in the classroom twelve years later, able to share my passion and knowledge of language arts with thoughtful young people each day.