CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Demetrius Winn worked for years as a custodian with the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. He was around the kids, and he supported them in a way. But he wanted to do more.

On Friday, he was one of 34 new educators who signed letters of intent to enter into the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program, in partnership with Austin Peay State University.

“As a custodian, I saw kids in the hallway in passing, but in this teacher program, I’m able to give more time to them, have more time with them in the classroom,” said Winn, assigned now to Kenwood Middle as a teacher resident.

“I want to be able to impact them and bring some excitement back to education. I think we have to create the environment in the classroom where they want to grow and learn, and that’s what I want to do,” Winn said.

Future educators who have signed letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
L-R, LaVetta Radford, Dr. Phyllis Casebolt, and Traci Koon at the Elementary-Middle Teacher Residency Signing Day for CMCSS on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educator Emily Brown has signed a letter of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educator Sandra Caltrider has signed a letter of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educator Demetrius Winn has signed a letter of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Dr. Prentice Chandler, APSU Dean of Eriksson College of Education at the Elementary-Middle Teacher Residency Signing Day for CMCSS on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators prepare to sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators prepare to sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Dr. Sean Impeartrice, CMCSS Chief Academic Officer, at the Elementary-Middle Teacher Residency Signing Day for CMCSS on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Dr. Lisa Brown, APSU Director of Teacher Education and Partnerships, at the Elementary-Middle Teacher Residency Signing Day for CMCSS on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
L-R, Traci Koon, LaVetta Radford and Dr. Sean Impeartrice, at the Elementary-Middle Teacher Residency Signing Day for CMCSS on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators prepare to sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
A future educator prepares to sign a letter of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators prepare to sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators prepare to sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators prepare to sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
A future educator prepares to sign a letter of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators prepare to sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Dr. Phyllis Casebolt, CMCSS Director of Federal Projects at the Elementary-Middle Teacher Residency Signing Day for CMCSS on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).
Future educators sign letters of intent to enter the CMCSS Teacher Residency Program on Friday September 24 2021 (Lee Erwin).

How the program works

Since 2018, CMCSS has been actively pursuing a non-traditional approach to help new teachers earn a degree or certification. Teacher residents will serve as educational assistants, helping students while learning best practices.

Sean Impeartrice, chief academic officer for CMCSS, told the teacher residents the school system knows they are working hard, and the challenges being put on them are sometimes intense.

“So, I reach out to you and your family and say thank you for being pioneers and going on this journey and going into the best profession I think there is, to impact the life of a child. We honor you today and we look forward to you being in our classrooms as teachers after another couple of years and we hope you stay with us for the rest of your career,” Impeartrice said.

Having an impact

Emily Brown, from Glenellen Elementary, got into the teacher residency program last year.

“Being an educator to me means having an impact on the students and being able to teach them and watch them learn and grow every year,” Brown said.

Sandra Caltrider, from New Providence Middle, said it’s always nice to be recognized for hard work.

“Teaching is the root of everything. You don’t get your doctors, you don’t get your lawyers, all of them have to start at the bottom, which is where we are working to build those things. Our community wouldn’t be what it is without the teachers that we have to teach those kids,” Caltrider said.

To learn more about the Teacher Residency Program, visit cmcss.net/trp.