Dual Language Teacher Residency Program
Application for 2026 is open now!
Application Deadline: April 15, 2026
Bilingual educators make a difference for bilingual students. Portland Public Schools recruits, trains and retains highly bilingual candidates from our community to become dual language educators and leaders in order to close the opportunity gap for historically underserved students and to invest in our linguistically diverse community.
The Portland Dual Language Teacher Residency Program (formerly the Dual Language Teacher Fellows Program) is recruiting bilingual candidates for its ninth cohort of dual language educators. PPS’ alternative licensure program was highlighted in a 2017 New America research article: “Building a Bilingual Teacher Pipeline.”
Ten years ago, PPS faced double-digit bilingual teacher shortages as it expanded language immersion programs across the district in an effort to increase opportunities for historically underserved students. Up to now, over 80 candidates have graduated from the program and became language teachers. Candidates in the program start by working in PPS as substitute teachers in their first year, and apply for teaching jobs in the second year. Those who have prior K-12 teaching experience may be placed in classrooms from the beginning, depending on the need.
To qualify for the program, candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree and show advanced proficiency in both English and a partner language: Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and Japanese.
Candidates apply to the program beginning in November, and complete partner language assessments for both speaking and writing. Second, candidates apply to Portland State University and must be accepted into their teacher preparation program. Then candidates are hired as Limited Term Employees to participate in the district summer training. The final step is to be hired as PPS substitute teachers. Teacher Residents apply for a Restricted Substitute Teaching License.
For more information, contact Lihong Dai, at ldai@pps.net.
See the impact of our Somali Teacher at PPS:
- OPB - What If One Culture Shares Multiple Languages
- OPB - First of Its Kind Somali Language Program Starts In North Portland
Updated November 2025
New America - The bilingual teacher shortage is all too common - but many great candidates are already in the classroom.
New America - Two new reports from New America highlight how school district and university partnerships can help reduce the bilingual teacher shortage.
NPR - Regardless of their own race, students had more favorable perceptions of teachers of color, according to a new study from New York University.
The Atlantic - Efforts to teach ELL students in their native languages are gaining traction—and they’re benefitting native English speakers, too.