Being a cooperating teacher requires work and responsibility. Additional compensation could both recognize cooperating teachers for their time as well as incentivize more teachers to take on this responsibility.
Public Education & Business Coalition Residency
This residency program in Colorado, which offers student teachers substantial stipends, also provides more modest stipends to cooperating teachers. Cooperating teachers receive $1,500 per year, with some additional funding for cooperating teachers of color, and districts may provide additional compensation.
Beaumont Independent School District
Beaumont ISD has partnered with a local prep program, Lamar University, to establish a residency program. The district pays cooperating teachers a stipend of $4,600 per year, split between two semesters (previously, cooperating teachers received $250 per student teacher per semester from the university and nothing from the district). To make the increased stipend financially feasible, residents (also known as student teachers) cover classes on a limited basis to provide release time to cooperating teachers. This allows cooperating teachers to also act as mentors to novice teachers and teachers from alternative route pathways at their schools.
Chicago Public Schools
Chicago Public Schools provides stipends for several groups of cooperating teachers. Teachers who host student teachers through the residency program receive a stipend of $5,000 per year, and up to $7,500 if they host two resident teachers. Cooperating teachers through the Pre-Service Teaching Equity Project (P-STEP) receive $2,100 for hosting student teachers if they also engage in the program’s equity-based professional development as well as the mentorship training offered by CPS’s Office of Teaching and Learning.
Louisiana
As part of its Believe and Prepare initiative to require yearlong teacher residencies, the state offers mentor teachers who support undergraduate resident teachers and post-baccalaureate candidates a $2,000 annual stipend. Mentor teachers must have one of the state’s certifications for supporting teachers in training (or a waiver).
- Louisiana mentor teacher stipend allocation
- Webinar slides about Louisiana’s resident teacher and mentor teacher compensation
New Mexico
In conjunction with offering stipends for student teachers in residency programs, New Mexico’s HB0013 also provides a stipend of no less than $2,000 per year for teachers hosting a resident. Cooperating teachers who host student teachers (who are not in a residency program) receive a stipend of $1,000.
Pennsylvania
The state is implementing a new stipend program for student teachers. In conjunction with this student teacher stipend, the legislation also offers cooperating teachers $2,500 stipends. The new stipend program will not yet be available for all cooperating teachers: Whether cooperating teachers receive stipends will depend on whether their student teacher also receives one.