The University of Northern Colorado’s (UNC) Center for Innovative Educator Preparation launches this fall, aiming to break down barriers for those aspiring to enter the education field. With a focus on access, affordability and innovation, the center is well-positioned to address challenges future educators face in their path to teaching.
Access and Innovation
The center, housed in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, has strong leadership from Co-Directors Corey Pierce, Ph.D., and interim dean Nancy Sileo, Ph.D. ’98. They are committed to identifying and eliminating obstacles that prevent people from becoming educators.
According to Pierce, the center will address both systemic issues and practical challenges.
“Our mission is to identify those barriers and then come in and say, ‘Hey, what can we do?’” Pierce said. “Do we need to write a grant? Do we need to influence policy? Do we need to change practices at UNC to reduce those barriers?”
To achieve this, the center is working on several fronts, from policy advocacy and partnerships with other educational institutions to direct support for students and educators. One of the center’s innovative approaches involves creating strong partnerships with school districts and other stakeholders to find new ways of teaching and informing policies that favor educators, school psychologists, counselors and school district leaders.
Concurrent Enrollment and Building Pathways
Another way the center is increasing access to a college education is through concurrent enrollment programs. Concurrent enrollment allows high school students to take college-level courses that count for both high school and college credit, giving them a head start on their higher education journey.
Concurrent enrollment programs have been around for a long time. In 2009, the Colorado state legislature established the Concurrent Enrollment program, which allows high school students to take college-level courses for free. The program is the most popular dual enrollment program in the state, with nearly 40% of high school graduates participating. However, students in rural areas struggle to participate in concurrent enrollment programs. Pierce points out a gap: high school students in rural areas often struggle to take advantage of concurrent enrollment classes because there are fewer teachers certified to teach these college-level courses. To address this, the center proposed creating online cohorts that allow students from different schools to participate in these classes remotely.
“If we’re talking rural Weld County, you may be talking to two kids interested in this school and two kids interested in the neighboring school,” Pierce said. “What we’ve done is created online cohorts so a teacher can teach using online synchronous formatting, reaching students from multiple high schools.”
By expanding access through these innovative online formats, the center not only enables students in remote areas to benefit from concurrent enrollment, but it also reduces the financial burden on families since the program covers tuition costs through partnerships with school districts and grants.
Supporting Future Educators through Financial Advocacy
The Center for Innovative Educator Preparation will focus on addressing financial barriers that prevent students from completing their education degrees.
“The [Colorado] state legislature says that we are not producing enough teachers. And we all know that one main reason is financial,” Pierce noted. “So, we presented a snapshot with real data to help them make informed decisions.”
In collaboration with Prepared to Teach, a national organization that funds student teaching residencies, the center participated in a survey that identified specific financial challenges faced by future educators.
The survey highlighted heartbreaking stories, such as students nearing the end of their program who had to move out of their apartments, sell their belongings and live in their cars in order to afford tuition and basic living expenses. These stories provided a stark picture for elected officials, such as the Colorado Joint Budget Committee, who then allocated more funding toward scholarships for educators.
Thanks to this effective advocacy, the Colorado department of Education created the Educator Recruitment and Retention Program (ERR), which provides $10,000 scholarships to help aspiring teachers cover their educational costs in exchange for a three-year commitment to teaching in a Colorado public school. However, the scholarships are on a first-come, first-served basis and the demand has outstripped the available funding, highlighting the need for ongoing advocacy and support.
Creating Inclusive Pathways for Paraprofessionals
The center is also working to create pathways for paraprofessionals — people who work in schools but are not yet licensed teachers — to advance in their careers. Through a partnership with the Poudre School District’s “Become a Teacher” program, the center has facilitated scholarships that allow paraprofessionals with an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree to complete a special education licensure or a master’s degree program in education at UNC, tuition-free.
“Now, we’re getting 17 people through [them], and those 17 people will go through [UNC] tuition-free,” Pierce said.
This initiative has expanded to include Weld County, where the center leveraged a grant from The Weld Trust to cover up to 9 credit hours for paraprofessionals who want to further their education. The goal is to identify more funds and partnerships to support these educators through their entire programs, ensuring they can advance without the financial burden.
Looking Ahead: Strengthening UNC’s Role in Educator Preparation
The work of the center is crucial not only for addressing current shortages in the teaching profession but also for positioning UNC as a leader in educator preparation, both in Colorado and nationally.
As the center grows, the university’s vision is for it to serve as a hub for regional research and collaboration, inviting educators, researchers and policymakers to develop innovative solutions to address the challenges facing the education sector.
By bridging gaps, advocating for equitable policies and creating innovative pathways, the Center for Innovative Educator Preparation is laying the groundwork for a more accessible and inclusive future in education.
