The purpose of this study was to investigate the experiences of mentor teachers in an urban teacher residency program within a school-university partnership. The authors used a qualitative interview study design to add to the literature about the benefits and challenges of mentoring teacher residents placed in urban elementary and Special Education classrooms. Six individual interviews were conducted with mentor teachers. Data analysis demonstrated that mentor teachers described the following benefits: building relationships and establishing a consistent classroom, analyzing their own practice and encouraging their own professional growth, and helping them "give back" to the teaching profession. Challenges to mentoring were identified as giving up classroom control and navigating supervisory and evaluator roles. All of the participant mentor teachers were positive about their experiences and growth as teachers. This research illustrates the beneficial power of a school-university teacher residency partnership and highlights the potential of the teacher residency model in preparing future teachers.