BPS Teaching Fellowship SY26-27 Cohort

POSITION: BPS Teaching Fellowship 2026-2027 Cohort member

REPORTS TO: Director of BPS Teacher Pipeline and MTEL Programs

Position Number: N/A

Grade: N/A

BPS TEACHER PIPELINES OVERVIEW
Boston Public Schools Teacher Pipeline Programs (BPS TPP) are part of the larger strategy of the Office of Human Resources to address the demand for highly-qualified equity-minded and racially-literate teachers for Bostons classrooms. Our core belief is that the next generation of Bostons teachers is in the schools homes and communities of Boston right now. This permeates all the work we do. BPS TPP are multigenerational community-based teacher preparation programs for preservice and in-service teachers. We represent the third generation of teacher preparation programs in the US - Teacher 3.0 (Kretchmar & Zeichner 2016) - where our candidates are prepared to work in solidarity with their families and students by interrupting racism at personal and systemic levels using the critical literacy of race (Sealey-Ruiz 2020).

Our teacher preparation programs are unique: we are among the few nationally and certainly the states only locally-embedded state-approved multigenerational grow your own educator preparation program. The overarching mission of the BPS TPP is to support racially linguistically and culturally diverse teachers by providing a coherent and comprehensive pathway from paraeducator to professional teacher. Keeping students at the center of our work we aim to cultivate teachers who empower young people to be change agents for the citys communities. This is work we know can happen in classrooms where teachers are committed responsive and reflective of the students and their various cultures heritages backgrounds and languages. BPS TPPs three overarching goals are:

• Develop and sustain an affordable pathway to an advanced degree for BPS teachers of color;
• Increase the number of BPS teachers who reflect the linguistic racial and ethnic diversity of Bostons students through an accessible pathway and supportive programming and
• Improve the ability and agency of BPS teachers to center race and racism through culturally affirming pedagogy and practice

The BPS TPP comprises three programs the longest running of which is the BPS Teaching Fellowship. Since 2016 the BPS Teacher Pipeline programs have been cultivating effective equity-oriented prospective and early-career teachers who represent the diverse communities cultures languages and backgrounds of the City of Boston. The following data summarizes the strong retention rate of BPS Teaching Fellows completers of color.

• SinceBPS educators have completed the Fellowship and been endorsed for Initial licensure for Moderate Disabilities and English as a Second Language (ESL).
• Since 2022 78% of BPS Teaching Fellowship completers are still teaching in BPS.
• Also since 2022 the BPS Teaching Fellowship has more than doubled in size. Prior to SY22-23 we had an average of 15.4 completers; since SY22-23 our average number of completers is 32.
• The demographics of the BPS Teaching Fellowship completers who remain teaching in BPS more closely reflect that of BPS students than the overall BPS teacher workforce.

BPS TEACHING FELLOWSHIP OVERVIEW

Participant Benefits:

Our innovative educator preparation training model is designed to help BPS Teaching Fellows lead their students to success from the moment they step into their classrooms. We offer:

• One-on-One Intensive & Individualized Coaching: BPS Teaching Fellows receive rigorous instructional coaching from our expert staff who are doctorate-level veteran teachers. Fellows are also shepherded to endorsement for licensure through the states Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP). Our coaching model will help Fellows see exponential growth in their practice over time. Each Fellow will receive frequent and consistent feedback on pedagogy and practice from BPSTF specialists on a weekly basis throughout the school year. Teaching Fellows are strongly supported to prepare for and pass all required MTEL tests during their time in the Fellowship. Fellows are also required and supported to secure their Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) Endorsementa requirement for teaching in BPS.

• Early Summer Pre-Practicum and Programming: A key component of the BPS Teaching Fellowship is its gradual release model. During the May welcome session Fellows are introduced to the online ESL and MD course modules they will complete over the summer. During August orientation Fellows co-construct their vision of great teaching while also beginning to work in small group September Fellows begin their 1-month intensive pre-practicum while teaching in BPS to build upon their content and pedagogical knowledge as they continue their online academic work and engage in our bi-monthly Academy session courses. Throughout the pre-practicum Fellows receive intensive in-person coaching and support from full-time specialists that includes weekly coaching sessions. Readiness for full practicum is assessed at the end of September.

• Professional Development & Coursework
  Fellows participate in in-person Academy sessions from September through May and online coursework over the course of the year starting in the summer.

• School-Year Practicum
  BPS Teaching Fellows to advance to the practicum phase of the program in October where they receive continuous and individualized coaching feedback and professional development through May in their respective classrooms. A supervising practitioner or mentor teacher is assigned to each Fellow. This veteran teacher in their school assists in the coaching and with DESEs CAP observation and feedback cycles outlined in the next section.

• Assessment of Performance
  At the end of the school year Fellows are assessed on the states Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP) cycle to ensure that they have met program competencies to earn licensure to continue their career as BPS teachers. Fellows work with specialists to gain competency in each of the seven CAP rubric elements throughout the year.

• Endorsement and Initial Licensure: As an approved educator preparation program for the MA DESE Fellows who meet the program requirements will be endorsed for initial licensure in Moderate Disabilities (all levels) or English as a Second Language. Upon completion of all required MTELs DESE grants initial licensure.

Who is Eligible

In order to participate in the program Fellows must apply for and be hired into a full-time Boston Public Schools teaching position by September 4th. Throughout the spring and summer candidates can take advantage of open district hiring opportunities such as job fairs teaching demonstration days (a.k.a. Demo Days) and networking events for aspiring educators.

Important Components of the programming:

• Complete summer online coursework
• Attend two required orientation sessions: May 2026 and early September 2026 (dates TBD)
• Engage in weekly coaching sessions beginning in September and ending in May
• Complete RETELL course and obtain SEI Endorsement (if not already earned)
• Attempt all required MTELs by December 2026This is mandatory
• Complete all online coursework and attend all Academy sessions and Early Literacy classes (In-person from Oct-Dec and March-April; on Zoom from Jan-Feb)

Tuition Cost:

The BPS Teaching Fellowship is free for SY26-27.

ALCs:

• Fellowship completers will obtain 4 ALCs for the online coursework and 4 for Academy and Early Literacy sessions for a total of 8 ALCs (in-district credits that can be used for salary lane changes within BPS)

Program Obligations:

• Complete all online coursework on time
• Attend and participate in all Academy sessions
• Earn SEI Endorsement (if you do not already possess this)
• Engage in ongoing preparation for and attempts at MTELs / make significant progress towards completing required MTELs
• Demonstrate proficiency in all 7 categories on the Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP) rubric by the end of the academic year

How to Apply

A complete application is due by 11:59 pm on April 17 2026. You must submit your résumé and references as part of your application.

Application Questions (Required): Submitting your application on TalentEd is the first round in BPSTFs admissions process. Once you submit your application you will be emailed with two additional tasks: complete a set of questions via a Google form and sign up for an interview with our staff. Thank you!