Field Trips is a series of stories that highlight schools and districts that have implemented new strategies to improve student outcomes, developed exemplary practices and validated their results through data and other verifiable demonstrations of student performance.

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CDE Field Trips - 5/19/25: Aspiring Educator Pathway at Cherry Creek School District

Posted 05/19/2025 - 3:29pm

Commissioner of Education Susana Cordova speaks while seated at a table with Cherry Creek School District officials.

A student apprentice smiles while teaching class in front of a white board with formulas written on it.

A student apprentice shares her experience in the program so far while seated at a table with three people on her left looking at her.

Mordecai Brownlee, President of the Community College of Aurora, looks at Cherry Creek School District Superintendent Chris Smith as he speaks.

Cherry Creek School District recently held a roundtable discussion about its innovative teacher residency program that is reshaping how educators are trained, supported, and retained—while directly tackling Colorado’s persistent teacher shortage.

The Aspiring Educator Pathway pays future teachers to co-teach in classrooms while they earn their degrees, giving them 5,000 hours of hands-on experience—more than five times the classroom time of traditional student teaching programs.

Launched in the 2024–25 school year, the program supports 15 candidates placed across seven schools in the district, with plans to expand to 400 candidates in four years. Participants receive a full salary and benefits package totaling $47,500 annually. Tuition is fully covered through a state grant from Career Advance Colorado.

In partnership with the Community College of Aurora, the program offers a reduced tuition rate and classifies participants as PERA-eligible CCSD employees. This structure lowers financial barriers to entering the profession while offering long-term job benefits and retirement contributions. Candidates will be able to earn a teaching degree from CCA while qualifying for licensure once this Cherry Creek program is approved by the State Board of Education and Colorado’s State Apprenticeship Agency, made possible by 2023 legislation (S.B. 22-087) that created the Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program.

The residency-style model, inspired by medical training, immerses participants in daily school life and pairs them with mentor teachers. Apprentices who complete the program and continue teaching in the district start at the fifth-year teacher salary—$65,343—recognizing the deep classroom experience they bring.

See photos from the roundtable discussion and candidates in classrooms on Flickr.

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