Roosevelt's CPS AA to BA program was designed in collaboration with the Chicago Public Schools and is the only undergraduate teacher residency program available in the state of Illinois. The goal of the program is to provide paraprofessionals and teaching assistants working in the Chicago Public Schools with an affordable and high-quality pathway to a BA degree and teacher licensure.
Undergraduates who complete the CPS AA to BA Residency Program will earn a BA degree in Education from Roosevelt University and Illinois teacher licensure in either early childhood education or special education. This innovative, two-year program features a year-long student teaching experience and a reduced tuition rate that remains fixed over the two-year period of study. To meet the needs of working adults, courses are offered in the fall, spring, and summer semesters, with courses offered at night and online.
To earn admission, CPS employees must successfully complete an interview and have (or be close to completing) an AA or AAS degree from a community college.
Roosevelt’s individualized coaching framework immediately provides each admitted CPS employee with a faculty mentor who guides them through increasingly complex field experiences at their CPS workplace. In the second year of study, the employees become “residents” and complete the year-long student teaching experience at a CPS school that has a need for a licensed early childhood or special education teacher. In June 2019, the Chicago Public Schools, in collaboration with Roosevelt, was awarded a Teacher Residency Planning Grant from the Illinois State Board of Education to design the year-long student teaching residency.
For more information about this program,visit the CPS website, or contact Jason Taylor-Butler, CPS Recruitment Specialist-Teacher Residency Program, at jtbutlertaylor@cps.edu.