The Yale Teaching Fellowship’s leaders are tweaking how the new program works in order to help deliver on a promise they’ve made from the start: To prepare high-quality educators who are deeply connected to New Haven and ready to lead classrooms with confidence from day one. Yale Teaching Fe llowship Director Christine Gentry and Associate Director Da’Jhon Jett reflected on the first half of the program’s inaugural year — and on changes to come — in a recent interview with the Independent. The Yale-funded teaching fellowship began in May 2025 with a focus on addressing New Haven Public Schools (NHPS)’ shortage of teachers for math, science, and special education. A total of 23 fellows have been matched this year with current NHPS educators-turned-mentors. Each fellow has been assigned to work alongside their mentors at 14 city schools, where the student-teachers learn ropes of what it’s like to actually be at the front of the classroom. The teaching fellows are also enrolled at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) to gain a teacher certification and a Master of Arts in Teaching degree — with Yale paying each student’s full tuition. Fellows on the new-teacher track receive a stipend of $47,380 as they work on the ground in NHPS buildings.  After gathering feedback from the current cohort of teaching fellow, Gentry and Jett are making a number of changes to the program starting next school year. They said that the timeline for fellows to complete the master’s degree at SCSU will be extended from 12 months to two years. Living stipends will be provided to those on the paraprofessional/support staff track to ensure that all participants receive comprehensive support without also needing to balance full-time work. And the number of NHPS schools where fellows will be placed will drop from 14 to 8 to make it easier for the fellowship’s leaders to provide coaching. In total, Yale has allocated $10 million to the teaching fellowship to span four cohorts with an aim of bringing 100 educators with master’s degrees to NHPS. The fellowship requires that the fellows work in NHPS for at least three years after completing the program. The program also offers a course track for current teachers to become cross-endorsed, and for paraprofessionals and support staff to move into certified teaching positions. The fellowship’s key institutional partners — SCSU, Yale, New Haven Promise, and NHPS — began working over a year ago on designing the fellowship to prepare, provide long-term support, and retain educators in New Haven. Gentry said its design as a yearlong fellowship is modeled after medical training. Alongside veteran mentors, coaches, and university courses, the aspiring educators are spending a total of 12 months each on an accelerated track to become the educators NHPS currently needs.  Gentry and Jett said the fellowship prepares teachers through apprenticeship rather than through a traditional “sink or swim” approach. Gentry described the program as having a “scaffolded system of support,” ensuring that fellows are getting step-by-step guidance. Jett added that the program’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that New Haven students deserve the highest-quality teachers. Jett highlighted that Yale’s involvement is a visible commitment to New Haven’s community. “We’re Helping NHPS Grow Its Own” From the start, the fellowship aimed to recruit candidates who already had strong ties to NHPS. As a result, 96 percent of the program’s inaugural cohort already lived in Connecticut, and 43 percent already lived in New Haven; 35 percent went to NHPS while 61 percent already work or have worked for NHPS.  Jett noted that many of the fellows also have kids or family members attending NHPS, which adds to their investment in the school system.  “We’re helping New Haven Public Schools grow its own and we’re helping them build an educator workforce that reflects the diversity of the student population,” Gentry said. Unlike traditional teacher-preparation programs, the fellows begin and end the entire school year alongside their mentor teachers while gradually assuming more instructional responsibility as the year continues. Jett noted that his coaching so far included lessons in relationship-building, classroom management, creating student-friendly learning objectives, and assessment development. In his role he is charged with supporting the fellows through twice-a-month one-on-one visits, coaching, and professional development. Jett recalled his classroom observations progressing since the start of the year, showing him each fellow’s growth toward translating their coursework into the classroom. “Each month we have a focus for professional learning based on research and what we know is needed in classrooms,” Jett said.  Before taking their Yale roles Jett was a middle school math teacher and Gentry was a high school English teacher. Together they have 20 years of educator experience allowing them to bring their teaching philosophies into the fellowship: high expectations, transparent goals, and ample support.  Jett emphasized the importance of meaningful professional development for educators to help them to meet high expectations. They each agreed that the fellowship embodies a “spirit of continuous improvement,” mirroring the idea that educators, like their students, should always strive to grow and improve. As fellows approach full classroom leadership midyear, the transition — described as a symbolic “baton pass” — signals readiness to take on classes more independently. “It’s really when they are assuming full responsibility and finally feeling like they have the autonomy to kind of teach in a way that’s even more authentic to them,” Jett said. Both Gentry and Jett draw heavily on their own teaching backgrounds to run the fellowship. Gentry also brings 10 years of experience in educator fellowship work before joining Yale’s program. Gentry described entering the classroom through a traditional teacher-preparation program and feeling deeply unprepared during her first year. “My first year of teaching in Boston Public Schools, I call it the winter of my life,” Gentry said. “I had no idea what I was doing.” That experience now informs her belief that teacher preparation is one of the most critical factors of student success. The goal is to ensure that fellows aren’t shocked when they start in August as full-time educators, equipped with the knowledge and resources of Yale behind them, Gentry said.  “You can’t really convince me that anything matters more to improving student outcomes than the humans we’re putting in front of kids,” she added. Jett, who completed a residency-style program through his track at Quinnpiac University, said consistent mentorship and feedback were key to his growth as an educator. He explained that having daily support and reflection opportunities helped him feel more prepared when he eventually took on full classroom responsibility. He’s hoping it will be the same with NHPS’ fellows. As the year unfolds, the program’s leaders said they made changes in response to continuous feedback from fellows, mentors, and school administrators. The most frequent concerns they heard were about the difficultly of managing six SCSU courses while working in the schools each day of the week.  “We’re really hungry for their feedback,” Gentry said. As a result, changes to the program are underway for the next cohort of educators to support them in feeling less overwhelmed balancing coursework and classroom responsibilities. A July 2025 MOU between the fellowship’s stakeholders came about after gathering feedback about the programs structure.  The program gathers regular feedback through coaching conversations, anonymous surveys, monthly mentor check-ins, and regular communication with principals, Gentry said. Gentry emphasized that the fellows’ three-year commitment to teaching in NHPS is intended as a starting point rather than an endpoint. That means that, if educators enter the district supported and prepared, they’re more likely to stay in New Haven. “That’s our floor,” Gentry said of the three-year requirement. “We have an aspirational goal that they make a career of this.” Jett emphasized that long-term retention also depends not just on whether new teachers feel supported, but also whether their mentors feel supported, too. Gentry recalled mentors telling her throughout the program’s first months that it has helped them to fall back in love with teaching and get a refreshing new perspective on their career. “When teachers feel supported, they’re going to stay,” Jett said. “All we want is support.” As the inaugural cohort approaches the end of its first year, Gentry said that data will guide improvements for future cohorts. For now, Gentry and Jett say the first year has proven the value of an apprenticeship approach to teacher prep. As the program moves into its second half, Jett is currently helping fellows navigate the NHPS hiring process and preparing for full-classroom responsibility. In the coming months, fellows will take on complete teaching duties, including grading, contacting parents, and conducting formal assessments. By February, they will begin their practicum periods and, by late spring, they will be fully immersed in their roles, demonstrating their readiness for the master’s program’s final evaluation.  The post Almost 1 Year In, Teaching Fellowship Adapts appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less