Arbor School Teacher Residency Program

Earn your master of arts in teaching degree in a unique immersive residency partnership between Pacific University and Arbor School.

Arbor School is an independent school in Tualatin, OR, serving children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Located on 21 acres of wooded farm land, Arbor School focuses on an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to education that focuses on individual talents and encourages children to become imaginative, independent thinkers.

Meaningful Teaching Experiences

In the Arbor School Teacher Residency Program, Pacific students are fully engaged in all aspects of life at Arbor School. They work closely with a mentor teacher through their two-year residency, taking on increasing responsibility for lesson preparation and delivery. They expand their understanding of teaching practices with additional public school placements. The culmination of their residency is a term of solo teaching within their original classroom placement at Arbor.

Robust Teacher Preparation

Teacher Residents take MAT classes at the Arbor Center for Teaching and at Pacific University’s Forest Grove Campus. Following the same curriculum as other MAT programs at Pacific, students meet the requirements established by the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, focusing on child development, assessment, social justice, methodology, and educational philosophy. Upon the completion of their Teacher Residency, students earn a master of arts in teaching from Pacific and are prepared for preliminary teaching licensure in Oregon. Plan your two-year residency at Arbor School.

Teacher Mentorship

Teacher Residents work with the same mentor teacher throughout their two-year residency at Arbor School. Following graduation, residents continue to receive mentorship and coaching from the Arbor Center for Teaching throughout their first year of professional teaching.

Tuition and Financial Support

Students in the Arbor School Teacher Residency Program pay the same tuition as other students in Pacific’s MAT in General Education program.

Teacher Residents receive additional financial support, including a $1,500 per month stipend from Arbor School, summer employment opportunities, and rent-free on-campus housing at Arbor School.

The Arbor Center for Teaching offers Fellowship positions for Teacher Resident candidates from backgrounds currently underrepresented in the teacher corps and who demonstrate a commitment to promoting a sense of academic and social belonging for all students. Fellowships cover half the tuition costs for the candidates selected.

Apply Now

The Arbor School Teacher Residency Program seeks people from diverse backgrounds who are innovative and perseverant workers, rigorous and inquiring thinkers, and reliable and worthy role models for children.  

Applicants should be deeply interested in teaching and engage collaboratively with other adults and children.  Prior to admission, applicants should have completed a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. 

Apply for the Arbor School Teacher Residency Program by completing the online application and supporting materials for Pacific University’s MAT program.