Following state efforts directed at getting more licensed teachers in Colorado classrooms, the state has officially graduated its first student from a new paid teacher apprenticeship model — and she’s already helping to fill critical classroom needs on the Western Slope.

Justyne Terry, a Colorado Mountain College student in Rifle, became the first in the state to complete Colorado’s Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program. She says the program made it possible for her to earn her license and collect thousands of hours of in-classroom teaching experience — all while earning an income.

“Students like Justyne … are credentialed the whole time they’re in the apprenticeship pathway, which is very unique in teacher education,” said Liz Qualman, director of Colorado Mountain College’s teacher education program.

Colorado’s Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program was established by lawmakers in 2023 as part of the state’s efforts to create new pathways for students to become licensed teachers.

School districts across the state — including on Colorado’s Western Slope — have reported teacher shortages since 2020. With several schools still advertising vacant positions well into the school year, the state has invested in several new pathways to get students in teaching positions.

The Teacher Degree Apprenticeship program allows students to work toward a bachelor’s degree while completing on-the-job training for up to three years under the guidance of a mentor teacher. During their on-the-job training, the student is employed by a school district or charter school as a teacher apprentice, earning over 4,500 paid training hours. Graduates earn a bachelor’s degree and a Colorado teaching license.

Colorado Mountain College launched the program at its campuses 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, according to a news release.

Qualman said the college’s first cohort of roughly 50 students joined the apprenticeship program in August 2024. Some, like Terry, were students enrolled in a traditional pathway who then transferred to the program. A majority, 85-90%, are non-traditional students with an average age of 35.

Terry, 34, became the first in the state to complete Colorado’s teacher apprenticeship program on May 1. While she did not originally intend to become a teacher, her work as a paraprofessional in a kindergarten classroom inspired her to pursue a teaching degree.

“I learned about how there was a big teacher shortage, and then I saw these little kids; they reminded me of my own kids, and I just felt like that was where I needed to be,” Terry said.
“So I switched my degree to the teaching program, and never looked back.”

After transferring into the apprenticeship program, she worked as a third-grade teacher apprentice at Wamsley Elementary School in Garfield Re-2 School District, where she earned a higher salary than her previous position as a long-term substitute. 

Married with two children, Terry said the income she earned as a teacher apprentice is what supported her through earning her bachelor’s degree and teaching license. The program also includes compensation increases as students progress in their apprenticeship.

“They are non-traditional students, for the most part, who are balancing work and school and their other life commitments,” Qualman said. “That’s our goal, is to make it very accessible, reduce all the barriers that we can and then just have completers in our rural communities so that we have highly qualified and licensed educators in our small town community.”

Andrea Cano, a 32-year-old Colorado Mountain College student in Eagle County, will be graduating from the teacher apprenticeship program in spring 2027. Though it hadn’t been part of her plan to become a teacher, her work as a paraprofessional at Red Hill Elementary School led her to enter the program. She transitioned into a teaching apprentice role at Red Hill, where she has worked for 7 years and plans to stay after graduation.

“I just love it at Red Hill, it’s always been my home. I didn’t really want to go anywhere else,” Cano said. “I know it’s hard to be in this community, but this opportunity has definitely given me a chance to be able to stay here.”

Cano said the opportunity to complete eight-week courses through Colorado Mountain College as opposed to the traditional 16-week courses has made the process significantly smoother, in addition to simplifying the licensing process.

Traditionally, student teachers have been placed in a classroom for one semester toward the end of their degree. Oftentimes, this placement comes without pay or guarantee of a job after graduation. The Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program aims to not only make this process more appealing for students, but also to make it feel supportive and accessible during a time when non-traditional students are juggling school with other work and family responsibilities.

“We have had a pathway for a long time at CMC where we provide stipends to traditional undergraduates who are student teaching, but I think this apprenticeship pathway works so much better in our smaller rural communities, where the individual gets to stay employed the whole time,” Qualman said.

Teacher pathway programs like the apprenticeship model are especially significant to Colorado Mountain College, whose mission includes strengthening the workforce of local communities. With several schools struggling with educator shortages, the apprenticeship program provides a pathway for students to temporarily — and then permanently — fill those positions.

“Even prior to this teacher apprenticeship pathway, I could probably count on one hand the number of students who have left our communities, and some of them might be teaching on the Front Range or elsewhere, but it’s so few of them that actually leave,” Qualman said. 

With more than 30 teacher apprentices estimated to enter classrooms at Colorado Mountain College in the fall, the college will have around 100 active apprentices registered in the pathway. Thirty-five are expected to graduate in spring 2027 — Cano among them.

“I’m a single mom. I have two kids. I don’t think that I would have been able to do this the traditional route and not get paid through it,” Cano said.

Terry will be stepping into a full-time special education teacher role at Wamsley Elementary School in the fall.