Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) recently hosted a summer open house to highlight the impact of the AUSL Teacher Residency. The event featured incoming resident teacher Maria Pulido, Superintendent of North Chicago School District John Price, and AUSL Executive Director Adam Case – all discussing new opportunities.
“We just graduated the largest class of resident teachers in the past decade. Over the past two years, we doubled the size of our cohorts,” shared AUSL Executive Director Adam Case.
“Given that every teacher impacts an average of over 3,000 students in their careers, we’re really proud of what this will mean to students who really need great teachers the most right now.”
164 resident teachers from the Chicago Teacher Residency and the Lake County Teacher Residency recently completed their orientation week and are now starting their first quarter at DePaul University’s College of Education.
One of these new resident teachers is Maria Pulido, who joined our Summer Open House as she’s just starting the Chicago Teacher Residency.
“I have a drive to help people,” said Maria.
“One of the main objectives of AUSL is to support underrepresented communities and that caught my attention immediately.”
Originally from California, Maria moved to Chicago at the age of two and later completed her bachelor’s degree in business administration and master’s degree in international business.
Maria was successful in her corporate HR position, but after becoming a mom in 2023, she found herself not having as much time with her son and family. She also grew up with a brother diagnosed with autism and ADHD that exposed her to the realities diverse learner students face in education.
“Looking at him struggle so much made me look at my priorities and made me want to become the teacher that my brother didn’t have,” said Maria.
“I also want to be the teacher that my son deserves. They are both the main reasons why I want to become an educator today. I see myself making a difference to students that deserve it the most.”
AUSL is bringing future educators like Maria to Lake County through the Lake County Teacher Residency program, which just launched its inaugural cohort of 20 resident teachers to support high-needs areas in Round Lake, North Chicago, and Waukegan, Illinois.
John Price, Superintendent of North Chicago School District 187, is one of the school leaders AUSL is partnering closely with.. In four years, Superintendent Price – a former Chicago Public Schools principal – has led efforts that improved teacher retention and increased high school graduation rates in North Chicago.
“What excites me about AUSL and our partnership is the ambitious goals of the organization and the strategy behind it,” said Superintendent Price.
“The strategy is really strong and it is a true investment from AUSL. We know the success of the teacher residency program and believe in the model.”
As we look ahead to the challenges education faces, nationwide teacher shortages highlight the need for AUSL’s expertise to address this growing issue facing education. AUSL’s Vision 2030 strategic plan positions the organization to meet this challenge.
As a national leader in teacher training, we are committed to training over 500 teachers each year to reach more students across the country, impacted directly from teacher vacancies in classrooms.
By 2030, our 500+ resident teacher graduates will impact 1.5 million students in our most deserving communities.
Thank you to Maria Pulido and Superintendent Price as well as all our event attendees for hearing firsthand how your support makes this transformational work possible.
Learn more about the AUSL Teacher Residency and our growth here: https://www.auslchicago.org/about-ausl/
