Teacher Residency Programs in Kansas City

Residents are members of our program who are seeking certification and development to become teachers. Once they complete their Residency year, we refer to those teachers as Graduates. Hear more about the Residency experience here!

No! To be eligible, you do have to hold a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, but we consider applicants from a variety of backgrounds.

No! We consider applicants across the spectrum, including new graduates, young professionals, career changers, and those in transition.

Joining the KCTR Program includes committing to the one year-long certification Residency, followed by a three-year commitment to teach in our network of partner school districts.

Our university partner is the University of Missouri, Kansas City. Together, the Kansas City Teacher Residency and UMKC have created a unique program specifically for residents. The Master’s of Curriculum and Leadership through UMKC is a two-year, full-time master’s program (36 credit hours total). The unique curriculum, through the lens of culturally responsive teaching, is applicable to the Residents’ experiences in Title 1 schools. It is based on the practical knowledge KCTR has built over our years of operation and UMKC’s leadership in the field of urban education. The KCTR coursework within the Residency year covers the first half of the degree. The remaining 18 credits are completed within your first year as a teacher of record.

The exact cost varies depending on the financial situation of the Resident. Certain benefits like the Residency stipend are taxable and tax brackets vary from person-to-person. Other benefits are only for qualified individuals (ex. The Josephine Silone Yates scholarship is only available to Black Residents; see more information in the FAQ below).

Costs that Residents are responsible for include:

• Tuition to UMKC (36 credit hours across 6 semesters at the Metro rate, see current tuition and fees here)
• Certification Testing fees (varies depending on certification area)
• Other various costs that Residents will be responsible for include fees for official transcripts, parking costs, and textbooks. These are communicated here for transparency, but note that all fees and costs are subject to change.

KCTR strives to provide resources and assistance to our members to ensure their successful completion of the program. We understand that money plays a role within your consideration of our program. If you’d like to learn more about the financial aspects, send us a message!

• Federal Student Aid: Throughout the two years it takes to earn your Master’s through UMKC, Residents will be considered UMKC students. Therefore, residents will be eligible for financial aid and loan deferment for existing loans.
• KCTR Stipend: To support you during your Residency year, KCTR offers a $20,000 stipend to all Residents. We disperse this stipend throughout the year in bi-monthly installments on the 15th and last day of the month via direct deposit. After your Residency year, you will become a full-time employee at a partner school where you will receive a full-time teacher’s salary from that district.
• AmeriCorps Segal Award: Our Residency year is an AmeriCorps program, which comes with many benefits, including the opportunity to earn an education award. The national AmeriCorps program sets the dollar amount for this award each year.
• Josephine Silone Yates Scholarship: Through our partnership with the National Center for Teacher Residency’s Black Educator Initiative, we can provide a scholarship to Black Residents in our program.
  • We acknowledge the systemic barriers that impact Black people entering the teaching profession; we also know that representation in the classroom can have a positive impact on student achievement. Because of this, KCTR strives to reduce barriers for Black individuals entering the teaching profession.

As a non-profit organization, KCTR is supported by the generous donations of private and public foundations and local individuals. For the various organizations that support KCTR’s work, visit our donor page.

KCTR prioritizes certifying teachers in core content areas. Currently we are providing certification and placements in the following areas only:

• Early Childhood Education
• Elementary Education
• Middle School English Language Arts
• Middle School Science
• Middle School Math
• Special Education

We do expect to expand into high school placements in future years.

Residents do play a role in determining their placement sites, though KCTR is ultimately responsible for and manages the placement process. Through our approach, Residents can visit school partners at their school sites and then outline their preferences. If you have a school placement site in mind prior to applying to the KCTR program, please reach out to a member of our recruitment team to communicate this preference.

Contact Us

KCTR works with dozens of public district schools and public charters. All our of our partner schools are Title 1. For a list of our current partner schools. check out our partner page. Note that depending on availability and need, the placement sites for Residents do vary year-to-year.

The Residency begins with a Summer Institute that lasts five weeks (Typically early/mid June through mid-July). Please note that while the formal start date of the Residency is not until June, once you are accepted into the program, there will be a set of required matriculation tasks prior to the start of the Residency.

The application can be found at kcteach.org/apply.

The application typically opens each fall with the start of the new school year and closes mid to late spring.

Our application is currently open! Submit your application here today!