California’s teacher residencies can’t thrive without community school training

California is funding community schools and teacher residencies at scale. The missing step: linking both so teachers are trained to deliver the “four pillars” sustainably—beyond grant timelines.

California is investing in two education strategies that can dramatically improve daily life in high-needs schools: community schools and teacher residencies.

Yet the state is largely building them side by side, not together—even though the goals overlap in a crucial way: students learn best when teachers can teach, and teachers can stay.

California has committed $4.1 billion since 2021 through the California Community Schools Partnership Program. supporting more than 2. 500 community schools in the highest-needs districts. with an additional $1 billion proposed in the state’s new budget.. Community schools are built around a racially just. relationship-centered model that connects students and families to stable health and social services.. When those supports are consistent. students are more likely to show up and more ready to focus in class—an outcome that ultimately rests on teachers and the conditions they work in.

Over the past several years, there has also been growing recognition that community schools can improve educator satisfaction and retention.. When schools remove barriers that pull teachers into constant crisis response, educators often regain time for instruction and professional collaboration.. But there’s a gap: the community school model is not automatically designed to train new educators—and continually strengthen experienced ones—in how to deliver the framework effectively.. That matters especially because grant funding does not last forever.

At the same time, California has spent more than $670 million since 2018 on teacher-residency partnerships between districts and teacher preparation programs.. In a typical residency. a candidate spends a year in the same school working alongside a mentor teacher. modeled on the structure of a medical residency.. The original intent was to recruit and support teachers for shortage areas, including increasing the pipeline for diverse educators.. More reciprocal partnerships can also expand teacher capacity and improve satisfaction while lowering costs for districts and preparation programs.

But residencies don’t automatically translate into community school readiness.. The problem is structural.. Districts and teacher preparation systems are accountable to different agencies and follow different reporting expectations. which can leave the two sides operating like separate tracks—each meeting its own performance requirements while failing to align on what teachers actually need to implement community school practices.

There is also a human layer to the disconnect.. The relationship between teacher preparation programs and school districts has often been transactional for years: districts host candidates. programs provide credentials. and then the connection loosens after hiring.. Community schools require something deeper—shared investment, shared decision-making, and shared ownership of outcomes.. When coordination is thin. the educator workforce benefits from residency support. but the school-based delivery of the community school “pillars” can remain uneven.

The opportunity is to weave the programs together so that educator wellness and instructional quality advance at the same time.. Teacher residencies could become a consistent on-campus mechanism for training and supporting educators in how to align daily practice with community school approaches.. That includes helping teacher residents and mentor teachers understand how to harness integrated student supports. strengthen family engagement. extend learning time and opportunities. and develop collaborative leadership.. In practical terms. that would mean fewer “one-time” professional learning sessions and more ongoing practice-based coaching tied to what the community school model actually demands.

There are several reasons this integration could be achievable now rather than later.. First, California can leverage existing funding rules instead of inventing new programs from scratch.. If the Commission on Teacher Credentialing prioritizes residency grants that place candidates in community school sites. preparation programs can design coursework and field experiences around the community school framework.. Similarly. the California Department of Education can treat residencies as a capacity-building and educator-wellness strategy in community school implementation grants—rather than limiting support to services for students only.. Grant design can also create a shared language for success if future reporting expectations include educator outcomes such as retention. vacancy reduction. and satisfaction.

Second, the state already supports technical assistance through separate statewide centers for community schools and for residencies.. Collaboration between those support networks could help districts and partner organizations adopt the community school framework inside residency design—regardless of whether a district is currently receiving the newest grant dollars.. In other words. districts shouldn’t have to wait for funding cycles to learn how to connect teacher training with school operations.

Third, teacher preparation programs can shift from “hosts” to enduring community partners.. Credentialing and field-experience requirements can nudge programs to recruit candidates from and for the communities they serve. align coursework with district practices and curriculum. and co-design ongoing professional learning alongside district leaders and community school partners.. Even outside formal community school designation. the underlying approach—building stable adult practices around family engagement and integrated supports—can guide how residencies prepare teachers for real school conditions.

What makes this integration so significant is that it targets sustainability.. Community schools rely on stable relationships and consistent systems, and teacher development relies on continuing support and coaching.. When the two are disconnected. schools can experience a revolving door of expertise: community partners and supports may be established. but teachers may not have the training or time structure to sustain the model once grants run out.. When the two are aligned. the school gets both the student-facing supports and the workforce infrastructure to keep those supports working day after day.

Ultimately. California may not need more education “experiments.” Misryoum perspective points to a simpler editorial thesis: the state already has two approaches that work.. The missing move is coordination—so that when students receive integrated supports and extended learning opportunities through community schools. teachers are prepared. supported. and retained through teacher residencies designed around the same framework.

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Rebecca Hatkoff. Ph.D. is the founder of Possibilities Unbound. which partners with schools. school districts. charter networks. teacher preparation programs. and other community and non-profit organizations to design humanizing professional learning and educator-workforce infrastructure.. She is the former director of teacher education at Claremont Graduate University.