The US Department of Education announced that Montclair State University will receive $6.2 million in federal funding to continue the Newark-Montclair Urban Teacher Residency Program, an apprenticeship-based study program for educators interested in urban teaching.

According to a report on NJ.com, Montclair State is one of 24 colleges across the country that will share in $35 million "meant to develop and foster programs that recruit and train teachers in high-need districts." The grant money will train 11,000 science, technology, engineering, and math teachers over the next five years as part of President Barack Obama's Teacher Quality Partnership grant competition.

In 2013, Newark Trust President and CEO Dr. Ross Danis gave the program's graduation ceremony the keynote address, remarking that the teachers are prepared "because they've been living it, teaching in Newark, understanding the district and learning what works and what doesn't."

In the residency program, teachers receive a master's degree and teacher certification while completing a clinical apprenticeship with mentor teachers. The teachers are then given preferential advancement in the Newark district's hiring process, where they will also receive induction support for a minimum of two years after they complete the residency program.

The MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) program has two tracks: early childhood (pre-K through 3); and elementary (K through 5)/Teacher of Students with Disabilities certifications (TSD). There is also a secondary, content area certification in math or a field of science.

The program, Danis said, is critical as the teaching profession transitions to address emerging disciplines.

"Even as our profession adapts to a 21st-century landscape, you are the future and you must always challenge bureaucracy and its policies," he said. "But you must also embrace the life, not the job. I surrendered to the teaching life. It's a lifetime commitment you make."