State Board of Education Approves CCSD as a Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program
On March 11, 2026, the Colorado State Board of Education approved Cherry Creek School District’s (CCSD) Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program, creating a new pathway to prepare future elementary school teachers while they gain experience in district classrooms.
The apprenticeship program was developed in partnership with the Community College of Aurora (CCA), and is intended to help build a strong local educator pipeline by allowing participants to work in schools while completing the training to become a licensed teacher.
The partnership between CCSD and CCA offers a transformative program that offers hands-on experience to future teachers in a collaborative team-teaching style as they work toward earning a bachelor’s degree aligned with the elementary education and Colorado Teacher Quality Standards. The four-year, residency-style apprenticeship program pairs aspiring educators with CCSD teachers who serve as mentors as they gain 4,500 hours of classroom experience and work toward licensure through the Community College of Aurora. The program adopts a similar model to a medical residency program that offers more classroom experience, compared to the typical 700 hours, which better prepares future teachers for student needs now and in the years to come.
“The ongoing success of any school district and the future of education relies on high-quality, highly-skilled teachers who have the resources and support necessary to thrive as professional educators and meet the needs of students today and in the future. We appreciate the support from the Colorado Department of Education in helping us to reimagine the teaching learning environment and elevate the teaching profession. Through collaborative teaching and more personalized classroom instruction, this model will help ensure student success and teacher satisfaction,” said Dr. Jennifer Perry, CCSD Interim Superintendent.
"The Community College of Aurora is proud to partner with Cherry Creek School District in advancing a bold and practical solution to Colorado’s educator workforce needs. Through our Teacher Degree Apprenticeship and Educator Preparation Program, we are creating a pathway that allows aspiring educators to earn a degree while gaining meaningful classroom experience in the very communities they will one day serve. This model not only strengthens the future of our schools, but also expands access to high-quality careers that advance social and economic mobility for the students and families of Aurora and beyond,” said Dr. Mordecai Brownlee, CCA President.
As part of the partnership with CCA, students in the program benefit from a lower tuition rate as they work toward their degree and become PERA-eligible CCSD employees.
In 2023, the Colorado State Legislature passed SB23-87 authorizing the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to develop a Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program which offers an alternative route to teacher licensure by creating a teacher degree apprenticeship program. It requires many of the same elements of current teacher licensure programs such as obtaining a bachelor’s degree, training programs approved by the CDE, and structured on-the-job training. The bill allows CDE to issue a Teacher Apprenticeship Authorization to individuals employed by a school district or other qualifying school who are registered in an apprenticeship program and enrolled in an affiliated bachelor’s degree program at an accredited institution. In this case, the accreditation for the program comes from CCA while licensure for teachers would come from CCSD.
“State approval for this program is an important milestone for CCA and our learners. We can now recommend licensure for teacher preparation program candidates and with our Educator Preparation Program (EPP) approval. We also have the opportunity to partner with learners and school districts across the state in both a traditional classroom setting or through our apprenticeship model with Cherry Creek School District. This gives flexibility in how students gain and demonstrate their skills while advancing the workforce opportunities for all our graduates regardless of instructional modality,” said CCA’s Dr. Bobby Pace, Provost and Vice President Academic Success.
CCSD’s Aspiring Educator Pathway program now includes 57 apprentice teachers across 16 schools.