MEEKER | This reporter had the pleasure of meeting with three of Meeker’s acting teachers this past week. The experience inspired great pride in our small community and the people who have been working hard to build our school district into a place both kids and teachers can thrive. These acting teachers are unique in that none of them have a degree in education; they are all part of the Colorado River BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) Alternative Licensure Program. This program, and others like it (there are many out there), allows someone who already holds a bachelor’s degree to become a licensed teacher from their own classroom. These programs can lead to great success: Meeker School Superintendent Chris Selle completed his Alternative Licensure program 20 years ago.
(From top) Claudia Bullen, Jeanne Justice and Nancy Richardson are three Meeker educators taking advantage of the District’s Alternative Teacher Licensure program to obtain their teaching license and gain valuable experience along the way. | COURTESY PHOTOS
The BOCES program is structured to guide these new teachers through their first year of teaching, they learn from within their own classroom, receiving feedback directly from BOCES along the way. It is a self-paced program, though there are timeframe recommendations. Each participant admitted that it is a demanding program that requires a lot of time management. However, these individuals were united in feeling that although that first year is stressful, it is an incredibly rewarding experience.
While the BOCES program is only one year — though it can be extended into two — these teachers are also required to complete an induction program. The induction program is operated through the school district and normally lasts three years. In this program, they are supported by a local mentor, someone who works in the same school as them and has a wealth of experience. These years continue to guide and build the participants’ knowledge and the tools they need to manage a classroom full of young minds, luckily though, the workload does become a bit lighter.
Claudia Bullen, who teaches both English language arts and science classes at Barone Middle School has a bachelor’s degree in animal science with a minor in wildlife education. She did not foresee becoming a middle school teacher — and absolutely loving it — while she was obtaining that degree. She pursued other avenues for a time, but when she moved to Meeker with her husband she began to substitute teach with the school district. This led her to becoming a paraprofessional, and eventually complete the Praxis exams that would allow her to fill an abruptly vacated teaching role. These exams ensure the teacher is qualified to teach in a specific content area. The Praxis licenses allowed Bullen to enroll in the BOCES program, putting her on track to obtain alternative licensure with Kris Casey as her mentor. Bullen will complete her program May 1 and officially earn her professional teaching license.
Jeanne Justice is a first-grade — and first-year — teacher. Like Bullen, Justice started with the Meeker School District as a substitute, then a para, before being approached about the opportunity to obtain her alternative license. She is now in her first year of her three year program, and being mentored by Lacey Rykhus. Justice’s bachelor’s degree is in criminal justice with a focus on juvenile criminal justice. She also worked as a paraprofessional for 10 years in Washington and raised a family, so it is safe to say she has always known she wanted to work with kids. Justice is bubbly about being in Meeker, and doesn’t believe she would be doing anything like this with any other school district.
“If I wasn’t working here, I would not work at any other school besides the Meeker School District. High school was fantastic, I got to sub up there. Middle school, fantastic, the students, the staff, all just great. So I knew when I got hired on here as a para, I thought this is where I want to work. I love the kids, I love the families, I love the teachers, my staff, everybody.”
Nancy Richardson is also a first-grade teacher. Richardson holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and she has been an employee of the Meeker School District for 10 years. She first began as a para, and held that position for three years. Then she became a substitute while also homeschooling her own children for four years. Richardson is now in the second year of her alternative licensure program and is currently working on her end-of-year presentation, which will be presented to the induction committee and explain why the committee should approve her for her teaching license. When asked if she was nervous about this presentation Richardson had a heartwarming reply.
“No, when you are passionate about something it’s easy to talk about it.”
“When you go through the alternative licensing program, you know you love kids by that time. I don’t think I could have been a teacher straight out of college, I didn’t have the patience. I needed to be a mother, I needed to own my own childcare business, I needed to be a para and sub and to have all those experiences, so that I had that foundation and knew I loved kids!”
~ Meeker teacher Nancy Richardson
Richardson also wanted to give credit to her mentor Bodachia Nln, who has given her an incredible amount of support through this program. But, she also reiterated that the entire school district has been in her corner throughout all her time with them.
It is nationally agreed that teachers are not paid enough for the hard work they do, although change regarding that may be on the horizon. Thankfully there are programs that still entice educators like Bullen, Justice and Richardson to pursue this line of work despite the salary. The Rural Alternative Licensure Stipend (RALS), from the Colorado Center for Rural Education (CCRE), has been granted to each of these women to aid them in the pursuit of their alternative licenses. This stipend is funded by the Rural Educator Recruitment and Retention Project, a partnership between the Colorado Department of Higher Education and the Colorado Center for Rural Education at the University of Northern Colorado. This stipend is only awarded to individuals with the intent to teach at a rural Colorado school and requires that they do so for three years.
From the Colorado Center for Rural Education Stipend Report Executive Summary: “The Rural Alternative Licensure Stipend (RALS) provides up to $6,000 of funding to individuals enrolled in a Colorado-approved alternative teacher preparation who are employed as an educator in one of Colorado’s rural or small rural school districts.”
You can find more information about Colorado alternative teacher programs by visiting https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprof/altteacheroverview.
Special to the Herald Times
