We believe that becoming a great teacher or school leader is a lot like becoming a great musician or doctor: it takes continuous practice, feedback, and dedication. That belief shapes everything about how we built Relay — from the meaning behind our name, to the way we train teachers and principals, to the assessments and practice sessions that make up your day-to-day experience as a student.

Table of Contents

• The Significance of the Name "Relay"
• How We Approach Training Teachers
• How You'll Learn to Teach at Relay

The Significance of the Name "Relay"

Our name comes from the core goal of our work: making sure every child has access to great teachers who inspire them to learn and achieve. Research shows that children who have at least three effective teachers in a row — a "relay" of great teachers — see a dramatic increase in academic success.

That's why we focus on developing and preparing educators through a practice-based approach. It allows us to fill schools with high-quality teachers from diverse backgrounds, so every child gets access to an excellent education.

How We Approach Training Teachers

Our mission is to teach teachers and school leaders to develop in all students the academic skills and strength of character needed to succeed in college and life. Our vision is to become the place where a new generation of continuously improving, mission-driven educators can fulfill their destiny in the world's greatest profession.

Our approach to preparing teachers and school leaders is unique in higher education. It starts with a curriculum rooted in pedagogical theory and grounded in evidence of what actually works in schools. Our programs emphasize the specific teaching and instructional-leadership skills and mindsets that have the greatest impact on student learning and character development.

We also encourage teachers and principals to build a strong focus on personal character strengths and social-emotional learning (SEL) skills — the kind that help their students grow into happy, responsible citizens who show grit, love, integrity, and respect for others. 

To develop and lead our programs, we've brought on faculty who've already helped thousands of children to achieve exceptional academic and character growth.

How You'll Learn to Teach at Relay

The techniques and strategies we teach at Relay are designed to help you support and reflect on both academic and social-emotional measures of student growth. That shows up in two connected parts of your experience: how we assess you, and how we help you practice.

Assessment Philosophy

Your assessments at Relay mirror, as closely as possible, the kind of work great teachers actually do day to day. You won't take traditional exams at Relay. Instead, your real assessment happens in front of your students every day: you'll reflect on your actual teaching practice and analyze real student work. We assign both smaller written assessments and larger, portfolio-based performance assessments — all designed to help you meaningfully improve your practice. 

Deliberate Practice

Deliberate practice is the focus on the concrete, specific teaching skills that maximize your impact in the classroom. It’s a cornerstone of every Relay program, and especially the Relay Teaching Residency program.

As a resident, you'll participate in weekly three-to-four-hour practice sessions to develop and perfect your teaching skills. These sessions complement and support your Relay master's classes. 

For example, you might practice responding to a common student misconception, receive expert feedback, apply that feedback, and do it again to build your skills.

That cycle plays out in a few concrete ways:

• You'll analyze video of your own lessons.
• You'll receive real-time coaching from instructors.
• You'll give and receive critiques from peers teaching similar grade levels.
• You'll take part in classroom coaching sessions built specifically around this practice-feedback-reapplication cycle.

By the time you graduate, you'll have years' worth of practical technique, live feedback, and hands-on repetition behind you.