Welcome to the High Desert Cohort of the Alder GSE Teacher Residency Program

Victor Elementary School District is excited to recruit teacher residents who will play a pivotal role in driving positive change across the High Desert region. This opportunity aims to address achievement gaps, enhance student outcomes, and foster collaboration with our dedicated VESD Mentor Teachers in a dynamic pathway to a full-time teaching career.

Residents who are selected to be part of the program will be matched with a highly effective VESD teacher who will serve as their mentor and advisor throughout the residency year. The residency program combines rigorous coursework, practical classroom experience following a gradual release model, and collaboration with the esteemed staff and faculty at Alder Graduate School of Education. Residents will earn both a Master’s Degree and a teaching credential within one year. Successful completion of the program also provides priority consideration for hiring within VESD.

We look forward to the impact and innovation you will bring to our educational community.

Important Dates:

Applications for the 2025-2026 Cohort will open in September

• Priority Application Deadline: TBD in October 

• Fall Application Deadline: TBD in November

• Winter Application Deadline: TBD in January

Sign up here: https://www.edjoin.org/vesd

Nothing makes a bigger impact on a child's schooling than their teacher. How would our world be different if every student had excellent teachers?

Imagine:

• Earning your Master’s Degree and Teaching Credential in one year.

• Apprenticing four days a week with an expert teacher in your residency school.

• Learning within a cohort of peers with whom you will work (and laugh) all year, paving the way to becoming lifelong friends and colleagues.

• Building a relationship with an expert instructional leader in K–12 education, who will advise and support you through one-on-one observation and dialogue.

• Engaging in critical conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion with your mentor, instructors, and peers.

• Receiving priority consideration for a full-time position upon completing the program.
  Doing all of this at a cost that is affordable and includes financial support.

Our program is based on a residency model that combines immersive hands-on practice in the classroom with educational theory and research in both seminars and online. It takes place in partnership with K–12 schools in historically under-served communities, and 96% of our graduates obtain full-time teaching positions after completing the program.

Program Overview

Residents spend four days a week in the classroom participating in hands-on teaching for the duration of a school year.

One day a week is spent with a regional cohort in seminars that bridge educational theory and research with the direct experience taking place in the classroom.

Additional discussion and reflection on theory and research take place via in-person course intensives and online coursework. More information is available in the Alder Scope and Sequence.

Residents receive a Master of Arts in Education with a concentration in Teaching or Special Education and Teaching Credential

Available credentials vary. Some include:

• Multiple Subject (K–8)

• Special Education – Mild/Moderate