PEBC Residency
Frequently Asked Questions
Program Questions and Answers
The PEBC Teacher Residency program offers five pathways to the teaching profession through alternative licensure.
Learn more about which path is right for you.
Summer Start Traditional Residents, Teachers of Record, and Special Education participants begin their training the summer before their program year at Summer Institute. Summer Institute provides space for community building, identity development and introductory learning around topics such as classroom management and learning standards.
Winter Start Teachers of Record attend Summer Institute the July following their enrollment.
Following Summer Institute, participants are invited to begin setting up their classrooms and attending school and district professional development in preparation for the first day of school.
Residents and 2-year Special Education participants will attend Seminar weekly during the program. For participants in the Denver area and Southwest, Seminar is in person. For other regions in Colorado, Seminar is conducted virtually. Teachers of Record attend Seminar virtually two evenings a month.
All program participants will be observed by their PEBC coach and will have contact with their mentor during the school year as support.
After spending 12-18 months in the classroom and completing licensure coursework, program participants are eligible to apply for their Initial Colorado Teacher’s License and will begin receiving differentiated post-residency support from our coaches.
2-year Special Education Participants will continue coaching, Seminar and mentor support in Special Education content their second year in the program.
New American and Pre-Bachelor's participants' timeline is dependent on credits and preparedness.
High Priority Resident Practices represent the values PEBC holds in teacher development and have been crosswalked with the Colorado Teacher Quality Standards, InTASC, Core Dispositions and Teaching Works High-Leverage Practices:
- Cultivating teacher identity and agency
- Supporting students across their social, emotional and academic needs
- Designing and implementing high-quality lessons aligned to standards relevant to district, school and content needs
- Designing and implementing appropriate measures of student growth
Residency Applicants may choose to teach in one of our Colorado regions:
- Denver Metro
- Southwest
- Southern Front Range
- Small Rural
They may also choose the content area they’d like to teach:
- Early Childhood Education (Ages: Birth to 8)
- Elementary (Grades: K to 6)
- Secondary (Grades: 6 to 12): English, Math, Science and Social Studies
Want to teach a non-core subject? Contact us to find out about additional placement options.
PEBC can support Teachers of Record anywhere in the state of Colorado.
The PEBC Teacher Residency partners with a variety of school types across Colorado including private, charter and traditional public schools. Below is a list of our current school district partners:
Denver Metro:
- Aurora Public Schools
- Mapleton Public Schools
- Denver Public Schools (elementary only)
- SOAR (Charter, elementary)
- KIPP (public charter network)
- UPrep (public charter network)
- Graland Country Day School (Independent, elementary only)
- Stanley British Primary School (Independent, elementary only)
North Colorado:
- Peak To Peak (Boulder K-12 public charter network)
Northwest Colorado:
- Aspen School District
Southern Front Range Colorado:
- Harrison School District 2
- Widefield School District 3
- Chavez-Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy (public charter network)
- Elizabeth Public Schools
- Legacy Academy (public charter school)
- Cañon City Schools
Southwest Colorado:
- Archuleta School District
- Bayfield School District
- Dolores School District
- Dolores County School District
- Durango School District 9-R
- Animas High School (public charter school)
- Ignacio School District
- Mancos School District
- Montezuma-Cortez School District
- Silverton School District
Small Rural
- West Grand School District
- Lamar School District
- Brush School District
Mentor teachers are individuals who have been nominated by their principals to support the training of resident teachers. Mentors receive professional development and attend monthly seminars to support their coaching skills. Mentors also receive a stipend from PEBC.
Contact us for more information about becoming a mentor or to nominate a mentor. The Teacher Residency believes that the residency experience is enriched by having the best teachers possible, and encourages nominations of teachers from all walks of life so that the absolute best teachers can be identified and selected.
See detailed program costs and financial support HERE.
All applicants are responsible for payment of a non-refundable $600 deposit. This deposit is required to secure enrollment in the program and is due within 30 days of acceptance.
Teachers of Record are hired and paid by the district. The cost of the program is dependent on the availability and eligibility of ERR funding.
Attend an upcoming info session to learn more about program costs and options for funding your teacher preparation.
Summer Institute is the first official convening of the cohort and takes place in July. Summer Institute is a foundational aspect of our residency and takes place in all of our urban and rural cohorts throughout Colorado. At Summer Institute residents build community with their peers, meet and begin forming professional relationships with PEBC staff and engage with content that will support them when they enter residency classrooms in the fall.
Application Questions and Answers
The PEBC Teacher Residency is currently accepting applications for all pathways
The extended application window opens once the regular application window is closed. PEBC Teacher Residency will continue to accept applications for select content areas and grade levels based on factors such as partner school needs and mentor availability. It is highly advised that a candidate take advantage of submitting an application in either the priority or regular admissions windows as we cannot guarantee that an application submitted in the extended window will be considered.
General application requirements include the following:
- Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university. Individuals having obtained a degree from a foreign country will need to have their transcripts evaluated by a NACES member.
- U.S. citizen, permanent resident or legally able to work in the U.S.
- Lives in the State of Colorado
- Willing to grow through feedback
- Loves kids!
PEBC will not make any program, funding, benefit, or employment decisions on the basis of race, sex, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or any other protected class.
The PEBC Teacher Residency’s screening process includes an application review, phone interview and final interview. The residency core dispositions are used throughout the evaluation process:
- Learning Orientation/Reflectiveness
- Efficacy/Agency
- Identity
- Relationships
- Complexity and Difference
- Professionalism
The PEBC Teacher Residency requires that all program participants live in Colorado by the time their program begins.
Anyone with plans to move to Colorado can begin the application and selection process virtually.
Please note: PEBC cannot provide sponsorship to international candidates at this time.
The Recruitment and Admissions Team understands that our residency is designed to support individuals with various levels of experience teaching. With that, we highly encourage candidates to seek recommendations from individuals that can speak to their strengths. This may include a former colleague, industry peer, manager, direct report, child’s teacher (or nanny), former teacher, etc.
Enrollment Questions and Answers
All Resident candidates will be required to apply and obtain an Alternative Teacher License from the Colorado Department of Education upon acceptance into the residency. Residents will work directly with PEBC staff to walk through the process of obtaining this prior to Summer Institute.
All accepted candidates will have to complete a background check through the Colorado Department of Education.
Accepted residents are required to prove their content expertise. While the PEBC Teacher Residency highly encourages all residents to take the Praxis II exam in their content/endorsement area (some districts require this for hire), the Colorado Department of Education may allow you to apply undergraduate credit hours or an undergraduate degree to your license through a transcript review. You will have a chance to learn more about this upon submitting your application to the residency.
Program participants are asked to sign a service agreement. This agreement includes completing the one-year residency program and committing to working in the field of education for two more years. In return, PEBC commits to providing you with five years of differentiated professional development.
Special Education Pathway Questions and Answers
All Resident candidates will be required to apply and obtain an Alternative Teacher License from the Colorado Department of Education upon acceptance into the residency. Residents will work directly with PEBC staff to walk through the process of obtaining this prior to Summer Institute.
SPED Generalists can start teaching students at the age 5 which is usually kindergarten in most school systems. An ECSE can teach students ages 0-5. PEBC Teacher Residency only offers the SPED Generalist Endorsement at this time.
Accepted residents are required to prove their content expertise. While the PEBC Teacher Residency highly encourages all residents to take the Praxis II exam in their content/endorsement area (some districts require this for hire), the Colorado Department of Education may allow you to apply undergraduate credit hours or an undergraduate degree to your license through a transcript review. You will have a chance to learn more about this upon submitting your application to the residency.
- All candidates must currently hold or have the ability to hold an initial or professional teaching license. This can include elementary or secondary content area licenses.
- Candidates need to secure a Special Education teaching position in a K-12 public, charter or private school
- School leaders must be aware of the candidate's status as a teacher of record in an alternative licensure program
- Candidates will apply for a Special Education Alternative (preferred) or Interim Alternative License.