Josie Sullivan is working toward becoming a special education teacher while staying in the classroom through the Nebraska Teacher Apprenticeship Program.
The program, a partnership between the College of Education and Human Sciences and the Nebraska Department of Education, allows aspiring teachers to earn licensure on an accelerated timeline while continuing hands-on classroom experience.
Sullivan was a recent transplant to Crete when she began working as a paraeducator at Crete Middle School. She said she had always wanted to become a teacher but was still figuring out her next steps after graduating high school in 2020. The apprenticeship gave her a way to continue working in the classroom while moving toward that goal.
One day, her supervisor at Crete Middle School recommended the new special education program.
“I’ve always known that I wanted to go into teaching, but I graduated high school in 2020 and at that point didn't know exactly what I wanted to do next,” Sullivan said. “With this program, I actually got to stay and teach in the same classroom I’ve been with in Crete. It really helped me get the best of both worlds.”
A joint effort between the College of Education and Human Sciences and the Nebraska Department of Education, the program is designed to help aspiring teachers earn endorsements on a faster timeline while addressing the need for special education teachers across the state.
For Sullivan, the program allowed her to build on the experience she was already gaining as a paraeducator while learning from CEHS faculty.
“Everything you were doing in the classroom lined up with your hands-on experience, which was really awesome,” Sullivan said. “Professor John Maag’s behavior management class, especially, was just amazing. He gave me a lot of pointers that I could use in my own classroom with the students that I work with. Getting advice from him and hearing his experience truly helped me get so much more confident in my job.”
After wrapping up the program later this summer, Sullivan is getting exactly what she sought from it.
“I just accepted a role with Crete Middle School as a special education life skills teacher, so I'm really looking forward to that,” Sullivan said. “I've created so many good relationships with people in the community and am feeling so much more settled with my life — I’m just really excited about the future.”
I've created so many good relationships with people in the community and am feeling so much more settled with my life — I’m just really excited about the future.
