Cal Poly will partner with the Santa Maria Bonita, Guadalupe Union and Orcutt Union school districts to offer a $33,000 stipend to Cal Poly students pursuing multiple-subject teaching credentials through a new residency program.
The Multiple Subject Teacher Education Preparation program will offer credential evening classes in Santa Maria. During the day, student teachers will complete a year-long placement in one of the three partner districts while working toward a multiple-subject elementary education teaching credential.
A teaching credential is a state-issued license needed to teach in K-12 schools. The program is funded through a $3.2 million California Commission on Teacher Credentialing grant, according to a Cal Poly press release.
The program is the first time Cal Poly has partnered with a local district to offer a state-funded residency program. Students who are accepted to the program will receive a $33,000 stipend, which is meant to cover tuition and living expenses.
Briana Ronan is a Cal Poly education professor and the faculty lead of the program.
“This program is different than most other types of teacher preparation programs. Typically, credential students must complete coursework before they can go into the classroom. In this model, you’re in the classroom nearly full time from the beginning through the full school year,” Ronan wrote in the Cal Poly press release.
Ronan said the program not only trains student teachers to be multiple-subject elementary school teachers but also provides an opportunity to teach middle school.
“I think this is a more financially stable approach to training teachers and hiring in local school districts,” Ronan said.
Credential students normally need to complete classes during the day, when they could be working a job.
“It came from creating a pathway for people who can’t take a year off from their job or are not able to take the coursework during the day, hence the evening classes,” Ronan said.
Liberal studies sophomore, Heloisa Mateus, acknowledges the stipend’s benefits while earning credentials.
“We cannot work as full-time teachers until we get a credential, so getting a stipend for a credential program would really help money-wise,” Mateus said. “In a profession where the money is already so small, not getting any money in the first year can be really challenging.”
“This program opens up a pathway that makes it affordable to earn a teaching credential, while simultaneously securing employment for the four years that follow the program,” Jess Jensen, an education professor and program co-coordinator, wrote in the Cal Poly press release. “It’s truly a game changer. Teacher recruitment is always an issue, and on top of that, several of our partner districts are moving to departmentalized upper elementary classes.”
Departmentalized upper elementary classes involve teachers who specialize in teaching one subject to different groups of students instead of multiple subjects to the same class.
Another goal of the program is to recruit teachers who will stay in the area after training, Ronan said. The student teachers accepted to the program will commit to teaching for four years in one of the partner districts.
“I think this program would greatly affect my future,” said Sophia Gonzalez, a liberal studies sophomore. “I’m excited to get in the classroom and start teaching as soon as I can.”
Gonzalez plans to earn her master’s degree in educational administration, so she said getting her credentials right after graduation is important.
“Credential-wise, the sooner the better for me,” Gonzalez said. “I wanna get my credential as soon as I can so I can get in the classroom and then start my master’s soon after.”
Applications are now open for the Teaching Residency Program through Nov. 1. The program also requires a bachelor’s degree prior to enrollment. The program will begin in August 2027 for students starting in the fall and in January 2028 for those beginning in the spring. Depending on completed coursework, the program takes two to three terms to complete.