ROCK HILL, S.C. - A $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be used to set up year-long teacher residencies over the next five years.

The SC RISE (South Carolina Residencies Impacting Schoolwide Equity) seeks to prepare teachers prior to them entering the workforce. As a result, this should have a positive impact on students as well. The program is led by Winthrop University, who is partnering with Clemson and the University of South Carolina.

"This grant will build a foundation for sustainable and equitable educational practices statewide,” said Edward Serna, President of Winthrop University. “We are excited to be launching a statewide initiative to establish teacher residencies as a transformative strategy for improving education. It speaks volumes to Winthrop’s commitment to teacher preparation, recruitment and retention, as the university was one of only three award recipients for the early phase competition focused on educator recruitment and retention.”

Winthrop was originally founded as a teaching college for women. The school already requires year-long internships, but these residencies will offer a new level of financial support. Like other professionals in the state, they are required to complete paid supervised work before they can receive a certificate. This will put the same pre-requisites in for teachers before they step into their own classroom.