The Ready2Teach Program at the University of Memphis is a newly designed program for all undergraduate teacher licensure programs. It is a collaborative effort among the Tennessee Board of Regents Universities, the University of Memphis' College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, College of Communication and Fine Arts and Regional Partner Public Schools. The University of Memphis' Ready2Teach Program's foundation rests on the following elements:

• High Standards for Candidate Performance Teaching Children and Youth
• Problem-Based Learning Integrated Throughout Program of Study
• Restructured Curriculum Emphasizing Practical Aspects of Becoming a Teacher Including Using Classroom Assessment Data and TVASS data to Make Instructional Decisions
• Increased Integration of Technology Use
• Year-Long Residency in the Classrooms of Carefully Selected PreService Instructive Mentor (PIMs) 
• Ongoing Formative Assessments That Monitor Teacher Candidates' Progress
• A Summative Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA) that is Modeled after the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards ---A High Stakes Performance Assessment That Parallels Tennessee's TEAM Assessment System

What best tells the University of Memphis' Ready2Teach Story? Our partner districts and principals who have helped make it successful and have seen first hand how good our candidates are:

"This is the second year Bartlett Elementary has partnered with the University of Memphis' Ready2Teach program.  Last year's experience was so rewarding for our faculty and the teacher candidates that we wanted an opportunity to have as many aspiring teachers come back to us.  These young people bring a wealth of knowledge regarding the new trends in education.  The information they share refreshes our seasoned teachers tenfold.  Our mentors, in turn, share valuable years of experience in those areas which do not come from books, such as classroom management, pacing and timing, instructional strategies, and parent-student-teacher relations.  If I could have my way, I would have had all the candidates from University of Memphis at Bartlett Elementary." Paige Watson Principal.

Margaret Gilmore, instructional supervisor with the Shelby County Schools:  "Ready2Teach is the absolute best teacher preparation residency program I have ever witnessed in my 28 years in education... It is a two-fold blessing for both the district and University of Memphis. We are given the opportunity to partner our super star teachers with pre-service teachers and serve as mentors and coaches to a group of young people who have chosen this noble profession, and the university is building an excellent teacher preparation program.  Our district has hired some of these Ready2Teach teachers, and we feel that they are extremely prepared to walk into a classroom and actually teach."