The PREPARE Residency Program begins in summer with orientation, a two-day Learning Institute on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and the first course, Advanced Educational Psychology.  In August, residents are placed with a mentor teacher in Guilford County Schools in a low performing elementary classroom and will begin the first part of their required clinical residency. During the fall, residents take a STEM block of courses which include Math Methods, Integrated Science/Social Studies, and Integrating STEM into Elementary Curriculum. 

The grant also covers four STEM Saturdays, an exciting opportunity to focus on a particular STEM topic in depth. These are scheduled for September, November, February and April.  STEM Saturday #1 will include a day-long workshop on developing a school children's garden to teach science and math.  Materials provided during the workshop are those the resident is allowed to keep and bring back to his/her classroom.  In the spring, residents complete the last part of their clinical residency and take MAT courses in reading, writing, children's literature, and using data to make instructional improvements.  A STEM Summer Enrichment camp in June completes the PREPARE Residency program.  Following program completion, residents file for their N.C. teaching license and will be hired by Guilford County Schools to teach in a low performing classroom for a minimum of three years.

The PREPARE Residency program includes a full-time, one-year clinical residency that takes place in a low performing elementary classroom in Guilford County. The placement provides an opportunity to students to directly apply what learn through their MAT coursework daily. Additionally, residents participate in many experiences on the campus of High Point University, including LEGO Lab Fridays in which classes of elementary children visit the School of Education for a half-day experience to creatively use LEGO bricks to learn math, science and robotics. 

At the end of the year the School of Education at High Point University runs a two-week STEM Summer enrichment camp that allows MAT students to earn course credit while developing and implementing daily STEM activities for camp participants. The two-week camp concludes with the Rocket Launch on the campus of High Point University with the children showcasing what they have learned in the camp to their parents. A great day of summer fun and learning!

The PREPARE Residency program is designed to recruit candidates from a wide range of backgrounds who complete a clinical full-year residency program in Guilford County Schools in a low performing classroom. Guilford County Schools is the third- largest district in North Carolina and GCS serves over 71,000 students and 10,000 educators across 126 schools in urban, suburban and rural areas, ranking 47th in size nationally.

GCS is a large urban school district with students and families from a wide range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The district experiences common challenges found in many school systems across the country, including academic achievement gaps, unequal access to advanced programs, and disparities in disciplinary practices. These factors make GCS a valuable setting for preparing future educators to address a range of instructional and classroom challenges.

The PREPARE Residency program uses the full-year clinical residency to allow students the opportunity to receive mentoring and coaching from a highly qualified mentor teacher while simultaneously taking courses in elementary education. Residents receive additional support from instructional coaches and university supervisors as they apply what they learn directly into the classroom on a daily basis. University faculty will provide classroom visitations to provide feedback to residents on how course content is being used in the classroom, particularly in STEM areas. Institutes and seminars throughout the year also provide an opportunity for residents to learn from key faculty and personnel from the three partners which include the School of Education at High Point University, the College of Education at A&T State University and Guilford County Schools, the 3rd largest school district in North Carolina.

The PREPARE Residency program is a three-way partnership of High Point University, Guilford County Schools and A&T State University through a federally funded grant. The grant will provide a tuition free residency program for 25 participants each year over the next four years. The full-time clinical residency provides an opportunity for support from a highly qualified mentor teacher, instructional coaching and university supervision for 12 months. Residents also participate in professional development opportunities, seminars, and STEM Saturdays which are designed to be experiential opportunities for hands-on learning, collaboration and exposure to strategies for teaching science, technology, engineering and math to elementary students in grades K-6.