Pre-Service Training

Pre-service Training is one of the most exciting – and challenging – elements of the TEACH Charlotte experience. This phase of training begins with enrollment and continues until the start of school in the fall.

Candidates accepted into the program begin their commitment by completing a concentrated period of independent study prior to participating in an intensive, six-week training using a curriculum focused on improving outcomes in schools where students lag several grade levels behind. This period is followed by additional independent study to further prepare for teaching in the fall. Participants learn the Fast Start skills through a combination of field teaching experience, coaching, and skill-building so they can hit the ground running from their first day in the classroom. Our Fast Start skills, which participants must master during Pre-Service Training before becoming teachers in CMS, are:

• Clearly communicating academic content;
• Ensuring that class time is used well;
• Ensuring full and purposeful student engagement at all times during a lesson; and
• Ensuring that student behavior is positive, respectful, and productive.

The Fast Start skills are only part of the complete set of skills and strategies that effective teachers deploy in their classrooms every day, and participants' development will not stop with the Fast Start skills. As teachers in the fall, participants will build mastery in other, more advanced skills through TNTP Academy and other development activities.  By mastering the Fast Start skills in Pre-Service Training, participants will be ready to make a strong start in the classroom and quickly progress toward instructional excellence.

Pre-Service Training consolidates a large amount of training into just a few weeks, making the program extremely demanding. During the six-week program, TEACH Charlotte teachers will participate in training activities five days a week from approximately 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily. Summer 2013 participants will spend the regular school day completing their field experience with a Cooperating Teacher in a high-need CMS classroom, where they are observed by Coaches and given immediate feedback on their proficiency in the Fast Start skills. Participants spend their afternoon/evening getting additional practice and feedback in the Fast Start skills through coaching sessions,skill-building sessions with Instructors focused on the subject areas that participants teach, and analyzing skill demonstrations with their peers. Throughout these activities, participants will receive extensive, ongoing feedback on their practice and apply this feedback to rapidly improve their practice.

Pre-service Training for the Summer 2013 cohort will tentatively begin in June. Due to the critical role that Pre-service Training plays in the success of TEACH Charlotte teachers, participants cannot miss any portion. Attendance is mandatory every day. Once you begin Pre-service Training, you should anticipate remaining in Charlotte and being actively engaged in additional program preparation through your first day of school, which may include securing a teaching position, developing teaching skills, and planning for classes.

Participants are formally evaluated during our Pre-Service Training on their proficiency in the Fast Start skills, based on observations of their field experience with summer school students; demonstrated professionalism; and fulfillment of program expectations. Only those participants who demonstrate mastery of the Fast Start skills and successfully complete training are eligible to be hired by CMS. Once hired, those participants must enroll in TNTP Academy, the exclusive licensure program of TEACH Charlotte.

Upon successful completion of Pre-Service Training, Fellows will enter the classroom as regular full-time CMS teachers. The expectations of participants are the same as any other first-year teacher. Participants are subject to principal evaluations and other levels of assessment that are identified by the district and state, as well as observations from members of the TEACH Charlotte staff. TEACH Charlotte teachers are required to demonstrate effective teaching through improved student outcomes.