FONTANA, CA – Fontana Unified School District has partnered with California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) to create a teacher pipeline, which will enable the District to recruit a diverse range of teacher candidates to serve the Fontana community for years to come.

The District introduced 20 CSUSB resident teacher candidates during a welcome reception held on Sept. 23. The residency candidates were provided training on professional expectations during the event, as well as training on building relationships with students to address their social emotional learning needs. The residents also met with school administration teams and the teachers they will work with.

“The purpose of the program is to increase the teacher pipeline at Fontana, while also working to help close the achievement gap within the District by recruiting, training and mentoring our own future educators,” said Dr. Monica Makiewicz, Fontana Unified associate superintendent of teaching and learning. “Fontana Unified will work to create multiple classroom experiences for the residents, increasing their skill level and immersing them in Fontana Unified policies and practices.”

The partnership will provide tuition assistance for the graduate students, who will potentially become certified teachers upon completion of the CSUSB College of Education credential program. Teacher residents will commit to working at FUSD for three years if a viable position is available.

The CSUSB credential program is split into two sections: Early Fieldwork and Student Teaching. In the Early Fieldwork phase, the resident teachers will serve as instructional support providers for K-12 students. In the Student Teaching phase, they will serve as classroom teachers. Candidates will be placed at Oleander, Poplar, Primrose and Redwood elementary schools and Wayne Ruble Middle School.

“This is an exciting education partnership that will allow the District to train its own workforce prior to making them a part of our team,” Interim Superintendent Juan M. López said. “By recruiting locally, we can ensure that our education team is attuned to the needs of our community. Thank you to Cal State San Bernardino for partnering with Fontana Unified to make this possible.”

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FUSD_CSUSB_TEACHERS: Fontana Unified educators connect with 20 resident teacher candidates from California State University, San Bernardino and provide training during a welcome reception on Sept. 23.