Earning a college degree is a goal for more than just high school students; many working professionals who have not yet earned a degree aspire to return to school and complete their education. One northern Colorado employer has made it well within reach for their employees to achieve those dreams.

“I guess dreams do come true even when you’re older,”

- Jennifer Hayden

For years, Deborah Meyer, Poudre School District’s (PSD) director of talent acquisition and retention, received feedback from paraprofessionals and non-licensed staff working in the district about their desire to grow in their field. After some discussion, the school district supplied funding to establish a program for those individuals to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in their discipline while remaining employed at the school district. Given UNC’s longstanding excellence in teacher preparation, combined with the campus’s close bond to PSD schools, Meyer approached UNC with the funding proposal. The university saw alignment with PSD’s goals kickstarting the “Become a Teacher Program” and allowing PSD paraprofessionals to pursue a degree preparing them to become special education teachers.

“What we noticed is a definite need in having highly qualified special education teachers in the field, and with UNC’s reputation and our long-standing partnership, it was something that we had proposed to the board ... The whole premise of the program is to make it accessible for our staff who normally would not be able to access or continue in education,” said Meyer.

Corey Pierce, Ph.D., director of the School of Special Education at UNC, spearheaded advocacy for the program from inside the university. With the help of Nancy Sileo, Ed.D. ’98, interim dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and professor of Special Education, the Become a Teacher Program ensures that its students are well supported and have the flexibility to finish UNC’s online Special Education Generalist completion program.

“Our long-term goal is that we are creating pathways where individuals who are interested in becoming educators see fewer barriers going down that pathway. A shorter-term goal for us is having a successful program with Poudre School District in this model, and we’re already looking at replicating this model [in other districts] ... This isn’t an isolated incident of Poudre School District needing teachers, it’s a critical shortage of educators statewide and nationwide, especially special education teachers,” said Pierce.

Someone ready and working to fill that critical shortage is Jennifer Hayden.

Hayden, a paraprofessional at Poudre School District, is passionate about supporting all students but feels especially strong about assisting students with special needs. Being a single mother to a son who requires accommodations, she knows how tiring it can be not to receive adequate care or accommodation.

When Hayden moved to Colorado from Texas in October 2019, she promised herself she would only accept a job that, as she put it, filled her soul. Five years later, she continues to love her work as a paraprofessional.

Encouraged by the principal at her previous school, Hayden realized she wanted to earn her degree and become an even better support system for students with disabilities and their families. For Hayden, that meant going back to college to become a special education teacher. However, her first attempts at completing her degree didn’t work out as planned.

“I applied to UNC twice and I got in both times, but the first time I didn’t understand I had to register by a certain date,” Hayden said. “Then, the second time, when I met with my advisor, we realized I couldn’t work and go to school [at the same time]. I was heartbroken. I left that meeting in tears because it just didn’t seem possible.”

Now, through the Become a Teacher Program, Hayden can continue working full-time, care for her son with the help of her mother, and work toward completing her bachelor’s degree in Special Education. Hayden’s story shows the importance of programs that allow working professionals to pursue higher education while tending to the other commitments in their lives.

“I guess dreams do come true even when you’re older,” said Hayden.