CMC student first in Colorado to complete teacher apprenticeship

Paid, hands-on program offers new route into teaching while addressing workforce shortages

By Carrie Click, Colorado Mountain College

RIFLE — For decades, student teachers have worked in classrooms for a semester at the end of their degree, typically without pay and with no guarantee of a job after graduation.

A new model aims to change that.

This spring, Colorado Mountain College student Justyne Terry, a third-grade teacher apprentice at Wamsley Elementary School in Garfield Re-2 School District in Rifle, will become the first in the state to complete Colorado’s teacher apprenticeship program.

CMC launched the program with support from Opportunity Now Colorado, a workforce initiative funded by the Colorado General Assembly through Senate Bill 23-087 to expand training pathways into high-demand careers.

Addressing educator shortages

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 46 states, along with Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have registered K-12 teacher apprenticeship programs as schools look for new ways to address educator shortages.

Students in the program work in classrooms for up to three years, earning a salary while completing their degree and gaining more than 4,500 hours of experience. Graduates earn a bachelor’s degree and a Colorado teaching license.

Terry, 34, who is married with two children, said earning an income made becoming a teacher possible.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this without getting paid,” she said.

“Teacher apprenticeship is reimagining how we prepare educators,” said Liz Qualman, director of CMC’s teacher education program. “Apprentices earn a salary, build classroom expertise over time and remove barriers to becoming a teacher while helping schools grow their own workforce.”

Strong relationships

At Wamsley Elementary, Principal Kathi Senor said the program benefits both aspiring teachers and students.

“Justyne’s enrollment in CMC’s apprenticeship program has strengthened our school,” Senor said, “while ensuring our students benefit from a passionate, committed educator who is growing every day.”

At Wamsley, Terry has built strong relationships with her third-grade students while completing her coursework through CMC.

“They’re sweet, they’re funny, and they all have such different personalities,” she said. “We laugh a lot, and I really feel invested in them.”

Terry did not originally plan to become a teacher. After working as a paraprofessional in a kindergarten classroom, she decided to pursue a teaching degree through CMC and transitioned into the apprenticeship program.

“What I learn in my classes at CMC, I can apply the very next day in my classroom,” she said.

The program is part of a broader collaboration between Colorado Mountain College, the Colorado Department of Education, Garfield Re-2 School District and state workforce partners. About 30 teacher apprentices are expected to enter classrooms at CMC this fall, Qualman said.

“I’m really grateful for this opportunity,” Terry said. “It’s opened the door for people like me who want to teach.”