Current reform efforts seek to redesign teacher education in alignment with a practice-based theory, a fundamental reconceptualization of higher education demanding a tighter alignment with K-12 school practices. The Faculty Research Residency Model--a Department of Education Funds for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) grant supported project--draws upon practice-based theory and leverages existing school-university partnerships to create opportunities for faculty to research practices in high need urban schools to inform university course redesign. This study describes the faculty research residency model, reports on year one results of the project, describes implications for refining the model, and provides recommendations to inform others seeking to improve university coursework through school-university partnerships.