State of Montana Newsroom
Superintendent Arntzen Continues Innovative Teacher Residency Program
HELENA – Superintendent Arntzen’s innovative teacher recruitment program, the Montana Teacher Residency Program, is continuing for a second year. The Residency program is a one-year paid student teaching experience during the fourth year of undergraduate studies for education majors. Residents will be paired with a teacher-leader, and receive a stipend, district-provided housing, and partial tuition support. Resident teachers will also commit to teaching in a Montana school district for a minimum of three years.
To date, 18 residents in 8 school districts have been placed for the 2023-2024 school year, with more placements pending:
- Browning – 5 residents
- Cayuse Prairie – 1 resident
- Dayton – 1 resident
- Frontier – 1 resident
- Great Falls – 3 residents
- Hardin – 4 residents
- Harlem – 1 resident
- Vaughn – 2 residents
During the first year of the residency program there were 18 residents in 11 districts. All but two of those residents have secured teaching positions in Montana for the next school year.
“One of the pillars of retaining employees is ensuring that they have the necessary tools to succeed from day one,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “Filling our classrooms with quality Montana grown educators leads to greater academic achievement. In order to put our Montana students first, we must support quality teachers in all our classrooms.”
The residents receive a $14,000 stipend from the Office of Public Instruction’s (OPI) Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds that were set aside for workforce redesign. A partial tuition waiver of up to $3,000 is also available to residents that are not already receiving full tuition support. The teacher-leaders that work daily with each resident will receive a $6,000 stipend. The ESSER dollars will fund the Residency Program through June 2024. During the 2023 legislative session, HB 833 was passed and signed by Governor Gianforte. This bill provided funding for the Residency Program beginning in July 2025.
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