Balancing a full-time job and teaching residency

Alicia Montague-Keels

Alicia Montague-Keels

Urban Teaching Residency Program M.S.Ed., 2016

Before Penn GSE: Undergraduate student

After Penn GSE: 4th Grade Teacher and instructional leader, Uncommon Schools Camden Prep

"Penn GSE’s Urban Teaching Residency immediately improved my teaching and prepared me for a career working in urban school districts."

As a first-generation college student, I felt a duty to give others the chance to have a life-changing education like I did. Penn GSE’s Urban Teaching Residency immediately improved my teaching and prepared me for a career working in urban school districts.

While attending Penn GSE, I taught fourth grade math full-time at a charter school in North Philadelphia. The program was structured so that I could fully commit to my teaching responsibilities, including leading after-school clubs and activities, while also experiencing everything this Ivy League university has to offer.

I was able to apply what I was learning at Penn GSE directly in my class, and then go back and discuss what worked and what I still needed to work on with my professors and the members of my cohort. We came from a wide range of backgrounds, and we were working in a number of school settings and grade ranges. This dynamic environment constantly provided me with fresh perspectives and ideas.

Being in a classroom can be an isolating experience. I don’t know if I would have succeeded without the guidance of the mentor teacher Penn GSE partnered me with. My mentor observed me in the classroom and gave me valuable feedback on my practice. We also had deep conversations about teaching philosophy, pedagogy, and the profession. And my mentor helped me understand Philadelphia and the community we were working in.

Working in an urban school, especially an under-resourced school, can have specific challenges. The Urban Teaching Residency Program gave me the tools to thrive in that setting, with different types of learners, and different types of student needs.