Some of the most widely known models of Minority Teacher Recruitment programs are listed below.

The Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL)

AUSL is currently one of three urban teacher residencies (UTR) in the country. UTR are designed to exemplify best practices in the recruitment, preparation, placement, retention, and teacher leadership for urban school districts.

The design components of UTR somewhat mirrors the medical residency model where residents are provided a comprehensive program consisting of pedagogical training, master-level course work, and a rigorous one-year classroom practicum. After completion of the one-year program, residents earn a master's degree in teaching, and become teachers in their own classrooms while continuing to receive support and mentorship from the residency program.

UTR recruit prospective teachers according to specific criteria aligned with district needs and have been extremely successful in recruiting and retaining residents from diverse backgrounds. Chicago's AUSL residency reported a 57% minority participation rate and, after three years, a 95% teacher retention rate.

The AUSL program requires each resident to commit to a five-year program which consists of a classroom residency year, followed by a four-year, post-graduate commitment to teaching in a low performing Chicago Public School. Each resident is provided a stipend of $32,000 during the practicum year, from which they are responsible for paying the tuition at the partnering university or college. In addition, residents are also able to apply for financial aid and may be eligible for forgivable loans through post-graduate service. Since 2001, AUSL has provided Chicago's Public Schools with 243 new teachers.

With the recent reauthorization of the Title II, Higher Education Opportunity Act, millions of dollars will soon become available for the startup and support of new UTR.

For more information on UTRs, visit the The Urban Teacher Residency Institute's website.

Center X/University of California, Los Angeles

UCLA's Center X has one of the most creative teacher preparation programs in the United States. Now a model for university-based continuing education for teachers and principals, it provides a unique setting where researchers and practitioners collaborate to design and conduct programs that prepare and support K–12 teachers in urban schools.

For the past 14 years, Center X has had great success in its commitment to expanding the racial and ethnic diversity and cultural competencies of prospective teachers. Currently, two-thirds of the Center's graduates are Latino, Asian or African American, compared with the national average of just 16% for new teachers. Since the program's implementation in 1995, the Center has supplied the Los Angeles School District with more than 1,100 new teachers.

Center X's teacher education program is an intensive two-year program that leads to a master's degree and state certification. Year one of the Center's program consists of master level coursework, site observations and a student practicum. Year two combines coursework, seminars, projects and fulltime teaching. Each cohort meets weekly to share their learning and information regarding their students, schools and communities. Once graduates are placed in a school, they receive on-going support and mentorship while continuing their learning within their schools.

Center X partners with districts in order to be part of long-term plans for change by collaborating with teachers, site and district administrators, and parents. The focus of the partnership work is around strengthening curriculum, deepening teacher content knowledge, improving instructional strategies, understanding student learning and creating a college-going culture—all connected to improving opportunities for success in academic classes. District partnerships include providing professional development institutes and workshops, coaching teachers, demonstrating lessons in classrooms and supporting teachers in implementation of instructional materials.

For more information, visit Center X's website.

Montclair State University's Freshman Cohort

Montclair State University's Freshman Cohort provides a unique model for higher education institutions interested in creating teacher education programs that are designed to recruit teachers of color and retain them in college and in teaching.

The Freshman Cohort provides a multicultural learning community for first-year students who have an interest in teaching. Cohort participants are recruited by the university's Teacher Education Advocacy Center (TEAC) and chosen via an annual application process. Each year, TEAC recruits 15–20 candidates of varying racial/ethnic backgrounds, academic disciplines, and academic histories and enrolls them for the same section in each of three courses: English Composition, Freshman Experience, and Psychology 101. Faculty members who teach these courses are identified as being culturally responsive and highly committed in working with prospective teachers. Together the cohort explores aspects of teaching and learning, and experiences issues of equity and diversity. Members of the faculty serve as mentors and meet with students several times during the semester. The mentors help each cohort member access information and assistance they require, and help them navigate through the obstacles they may face as entering freshman.

The key objectives of the Freshman Cohort are to identify freshman, especially students of color, who have an interest in teaching, provide them with support as they begin their postsecondary education, and retain them in a teacher education program through mentoring and support.

For more information, visit TEAC's website

Summer Institute for Future Teachers (SIFT), Connecticut

The SIFT program is a four-week summer residential program designed for minority junior and senior high school students. SIFT is funded by the Connecticut State Department of Education in partnership with Eastern Connecticut State University and the Capitol Region Education Council (CREC). The cost of the program is estimated to be $4,000 for each candidate, and students are responsible for a tuition fee of $200. However, students who qualify for free lunch are granted a waiver to cover the fee.

The summer institute introduces students to the teaching profession and develops their knowledge and skill in the hopes of attracting them to the teaching profession. SIFT students live on campus Monday through Friday, attend classes at the university, and participate in other social activities at the university. On Fridays, students go home and return to the campus on Sunday evenings. On completion of the program, SIFT students receive three college credits.

The SIFT program provides students with theoretical perspectives on teaching and learning including multiple intelligences, Connecticut Common Core of learning and teaching, lesson planning, and behavioral management. In addition, students work as teacher assistants in a local elementary school where they observe and provide individual instruction to pupils. Students practice skills in creating classroom practices that embrace racial, cultural, economic, and linguistic diversity.

SIFT also provides students with instructional practice sessions for taking the PRAXIS exam, and administers pre and post-tests to determine the impact of such sessions. SIFT data on PRAXIS results for 2007 reported a significant gain in scores. Most importantly, the program has been extremely successful in recruiting students from minority backgrounds. In 2007, SIFT reported that of the 26 candidates in the program, 58% were African American, 20% Latino, 8% Asian/Pacific Islander and 14% White. In addition, SIFT's administration reflects diversity similar to that of the student body. For more information, download the SIFT brochure.

Grow Your Own Illinois

Grow Your Own Teachers is a State of Illinois initiative that identifies, trains, and employs fully qualified teachers. Each program under the initiative is organized by a collaborative, which consists of a teacher preparation institution or college, a community–based organization, and a school district.

Program candidates are chosen by selective criteria and must have an affiliation with a school that is participating in the program. Candidates can be school employees, paraprofessionals, active school parents, or community members. Individuals who possess a bachelor's degree are not eligible.

Grow Your Own Illinois is dedicated to improving teaching in public schools in low-income communities by increasing teacher retention, providing highly qualified teachers in hard to staff subject areas, and increasing the number of teachers who share the race/ethnicity and culture of their students. Grow Your Own Teachers currently employs over 1,000 fully qualified teachers in low-income communities.

In addition to fostering the success of the Grow Your Own Teachers initiative in Illinois, Grow Your Own Teachers is providing information to other states that might be interested in the startup of a Grow Your Own Teachers program.

For more information, visit Grow Your Own Illinois's website.