From actuary to educator: The journey through a teacher residency

Katrina Grantham didn’t always want to be a teacher. After graduating from SUNY Brockport with a degree in math, she worked for several years as an actuary specializing in retirement benefits. When the pandemic kept her home helping her kindergartner navigate his schoolwork, she realized she found her calling. 

“I started helping teach a few other kids in the neighborhood, too,” she says. “We called it the Grantham Institute and I absolutely loved it.”

Grantham is pursuing a master’s in childhood education and an advanced certificate in inclusive childhood education through the Warner School of Education and Human Development. As a teacher resident in the Monroe County Teacher Residency Consortium, she is partnering with the Rush-Henrietta Central School District for a full academic year. An R-H grad who attended Sherman Elementary School, Grantham is excited to be in a familiar location at Sherman for her teacher residency.

She is placed in a classroom for the year, working with co-teachers on lesson planning, leading lessons, and providing extra support for students. One day each week she serves as a substitute teacher in the building, giving her a variety of important hands-on experiences.

“I appreciate all the opportunities the teachers I work with have given me,” Grantham says. “I am encouraged by the way this school community has been intentionally built to be inclusive for all students. This residency allows me to see the value in what I am learning and how it is put into practice in the classroom.”

Her co-teachers, Emily Van Scooter and Kim Bolzner, make sure she is involved in all aspects of leading a classroom—from working with students to meeting with families. “Having her in the classroom allows us greater flexibility to meet individual student needs,” Van Scooter shares. “She also brings such great enthusiasm to her work—she has energized us.”

Sherman Elementary School students have a new sensory wall to help support self-regulation and focus, thanks to Grantham, who created and installed the wall. With different activities like things to trace and a spot for wall-sitting, it provides several benefits, including mindfulness, energy regulation, anxiety management, and the development of fine motor skills. 

"Experiences like Katrina’s align with what the research tells us are key benefits of teacher residency programs," explains Kevin Meuwissen, chair of teaching & curriculum and director of the University of Rochester Teacher Residency Programs at the Warner School. "More time practicing in schools helps residents become members of school communities and improve their teaching. And strong co-teaching relationships reward residents and mentors alike, and those benefits show up in learning opportunities for students."

The Warner School’s paid teacher residency programs, in collaboration with the Rochester City School District, Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, Monroe One BOCES, other regional school districts, and Nazareth University, continue to prepare highly trained teachers for high-need certification areas through generously funded, well-supported residency experiences. 

The newest initiative, the Monroe Regional Teacher Residency Consortium (MRTRC), launched its first cohort in the 2024–25 academic year, with 14 residents serving nearly 2,000 students across four Monroe County school districts. Over the 2025–26 and 2026–27 academic years, more than 50 additional MRTRC residents will support at least 6,000 more students. 

Similarly, in its third year, the ROC Urban Teaching Fellows Program (ROC UTF) has served approximately 3,000 students across six Rochester City School District communities. By 2025–26 and 2026–27, an additional 20 fellows will reach about 2,500 more students. 

All teacher residents are Warner School teaching candidates, completing their master's program coursework over 15 months. Many alumni return to campus to mentor and network with new cohorts, strengthening the program’s long-term impact.

Learn more about the University of Rochester Teacher Residency Programs.