This brief from the Learning Policy Institute discusses teacher residencies as opportunities to address teacher shortages while improving teacher preparation. Viewed as highly effective pathways by program graduates and their employers, residencies also provide financial and educational support, enabling them to attract diverse candidates who stay in teaching. California has made large-scale investments in teacher residencies since 2018, and, in 2021, about 10% of all newly prepared teachers in California came through a residency pathway. This brief describes policy-relevant findings and recommendations from a set of case studies examining five of the state’s most effective programs, as judged by graduates and their employers. Included are ways in which the programs exemplify eight research-based characteristics of effective residencies. Key recommendations include strategies for designing and funding program models that are sustainable and supporting candidates so they can afford to participate.