Pre-Service Training

Pre-service Training is one of the most exciting – and challenging – elements of the Nashville Teaching Fellows experience. Pre-service training begins with enrollment and continues until the start of school in the fall. Candidates accepted into the program begin their commitment by completing training pre-requisites via online modules of our Teaching for Student Achievement guidebook for Fellows.  During the summer, Fellows participate in intensive, six-week Pre-Service Training to master the skills necessary to improve outcomes in schools where students lag several grade-levels behind. Fellows 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 Fellows must master during Pre-Service Training before becoming teachers in Nashville 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 Fellow development will not stop with the Fast Start skills. As teachers in the fall, Fellows 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, Fellows will be ready to make a strong start in the classroom and quickly progress to 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 summer program, Fellows will participate in training activities five days a week from approximately 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. Fellows spend their morning completing their field experience in a high-need Nashville classroom, where they are observed by Teacher Development Coaches and given immediate feedback on their proficiency in the Fast Start skills. Fellows spend their afternoon/evening getting additional practice and feedback in the Fast Start skills through coaching sessions with Teacher Development Coaches; skill-building sessions with Launch Skill Instructors focused on the subject areas that Fellows teach; and analyzing skill demonstrations with their peers.  Throughout these activities, Fellows will receive extensive, ongoing feedback on their practice and apply this feedback to rapidly improve their practice.

Pre-service Training is scheduled to align with district dates and typically begins in early June and ends mid-July. Due to the critical role that Pre-service Training plays in the success of Nashville Teaching Fellows, participants cannot miss any of the six-week training program. Attendance is mandatory every day. Once you begin Pre-service Training, you should anticipate remaining in Nashville and being actively engaged in additional program preparation through the first day of school, which may include securing a teaching position, developing teaching skills, and planning for classes.  In addition, Fellows will participate in a professional development in-service between the end of Pre-Service Training and the start of school in which program staff will support you in setting goals and planning for your teaching assignment.

Fellows 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. Every activity during Pre-Service Training will be geared toward developing Fellow proficiency in the Fast Start skills, but we anticipate that that not all Fellows will successfully complete training, as we will ensure that only those who’ve mastered the Fast Start skills will begin teaching in the fall. At the conclusion of Pre-service Training, only those Fellows who have demonstrated mastery of the Fast Start Skills will be eligible to teach Nashville students in the fall and earn a Tennessee Transitional License.

Summer Stipend

Upon completion of the Pre-service Training, Fellows are provided with a $1,500 pre-tax transitional stipend. The stipend is distributed after the end of the summer. Because of the timing of the training stipend, and because the time between the end of training and a Fellow’s first paycheck may be lengthy, we strongly encourage Fellows to take appropriate measures to ensure their financial well-being during this time.