A university in the California Central Valley and three rural district partners designed and implemented a rural teacher residency (RTR) to address the urgent need to prepare and increase retention of qualified educators serving students in rural communities. The RTR program prioritized building partnerships through data use and continuous improvements to refine the residency model. These significant, data-driven program improvements led to establishing a successful residency model for the university, which includes fidelity to the National Center for Teacher Residencies (NCTR) Framework that focuses on the initial establishment of strong partnerships for a successful residency. RTR attracted more diverse candidates than the traditional program at the university and, due to their high-quality preparation, program completers are staying in the classroom longer than most new teachers. As a result of RTR's success, other districts in the Central Valley witnessed the value of collaborating with a teacher preparation program and sought out partnership to develop their own residencies, and now five additional residencies with seven new district partners are in place. This paper describes the RTR successes, the development of a residency model for the university, and the process of building strong community relationships to expand the residency model throughout the Central Valley.