In this episode we hear from Dr. Jennifer Gresko of Rio Salado College and Heather Merrill of Glendale Community College discuss the joint bachelor of elementary education and special education program they share with Paradise Valley Community College in the Maricopa County Community College District, MCCCD. When state legislation passed to allow community colleges to offer bachelor degrees in 2021, Jennifer and Heather joined forces to create a dual certification bachelor degree. Born from existing associates and post-baccalaureate programs, the knowledge that all teachers need special education training, and requests from students and districts, the BAEE/SpEd program set out to lessen the teacher shortage in Arizona.

Their collaboration doesn't stop with the accredited program, it continues as the students, the teacher candidates, who may face unique needs are able to take courses at any of the three colleges because of their shared curriculum and the flexibility of the in-person and online modalities. At a price under $13,000, and the opportunity for state backed scholarships specifically for future teachers, the degree is among the most affordable paths to becoming a teacher.

For more information, please visit https://www.maricopa.edu/degrees-certificates/bachelors-degrees/elementary-education-special-education-baee-sped

As we continue the conversation with Kim Eckert, Craft Education's head of Instructional Innovation and Apprenticeship Design and former Louisiana Teacher of the Year in this second half of our two-part series, we learn about how to start small while aiming for larger scale implementation. By gathering all the constituents a program will need, such as higher education faculty, district leadership, as well as legislative and funding personnel, building a sustainable teacher apprenticeship program becomes a realistic possibility.

Ms. Eckert can be reached at kim.eckert@crafteducation.com

In this first half of our two-part series with Craft Education's  head of Instructional Innovation and Apprenticeship Design, Kim Eckert, we learn why teacher apprenticeships are vitally important to the future of teacher education. As part of that importance, we also hear how community colleges are ideally positioned to lead this work that endeavors to break down the financial barriers that traditional student teaching often brings to teacher candidates who may already have families. Additionally, teacher apprenticeships keep paraprofessionals who are already community members within the schools and communities they already serve.