Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Programs

• Demonstrated evidence of need, including identified candidates for the proposed apprenticeship program.
• Need may include but is not limited to current shortage area, potential future shortage, diversification of workforce, etc.

• Minimum qualifications and selection procedures must be in conformity with all terms of apprenticeship.
• To be eligible as a teacher apprentice, candidates must not hold a bachelor’s or higher degree.

Detailed plan to address the Teacher Quality Standards, educator preparation endorsement standards and these Colorado Department of Education-identified apprenticeship program components:

On-the-job learning:
An organized plan for meeting each of the defined competencies and levels of apprenticeship that can be obtained and demonstrated in one of the following ways:

• Thirty or more hours credits for successfully completing on-the-job training; or
• Creating a residency model that closely integrates coursework and clinical experience with relevant and connected assignments carried out in the clinical experience that counts as 25 percent or more toward the bachelor’s degree; or
• Embedding on-the-job learning into the assignment requirements of 25 percent or more of the courses within the degree; or
• Operating as a competency-based bachelor’s degree program.

Bachelor’s degree program: The program incorporates completion of a bachelor's degree from a regionally or nationally accredited institution in a related field of study relative to the endorsement content area the teacher apprentices will pursue:

• For middle school, secondary and K-12 endorsement areas, the bachelor’s degree may be in the matching content area.
• For elementary, special education and early childhood education, the bachelor’s degree must match those endorsement areas.
  • For special education apprentices, programs must confer the bachelor’s degree before teacher apprentices serve as teachers of record.

Competency levels: All programs must be designed to meet the following five levels of apprenticeship including corresponding competencies, time, content, support and assessments, as defined by the program and approved by the Department through the application process.

• Level 1: Pre-Apprentice
  Exposure and orientation for the apprentice to foundational knowledge of the classroom and teaching. To exit Level 1, the program must ensure the apprentice has completed requirements and demonstrated competency as defined in the approved program application. The teacher apprentice must obtain the authorization to advance to Level 2 of the teacher apprenticeship competencies.
• Level 2: Beginner Apprentice
  The teacher apprentice must hold a teacher apprenticeship authorization or substitute teacher authorization as specified in 1 CCR 301-37 (4.19). To exit Level 2, the program must ensure the apprentice:
  • Completes requirements and demonstrates competency in Teacher Quality Standard 2; and
  • Is provided time to experience and practice beginning components found in Teacher Quality Standards 3 and 4; and
  • Holds a teacher degree apprenticeship authorization.
• Level 3: Intermediate Apprentice
  The teacher apprentice must hold a teacher apprenticeship authorization as specified in 1 CCR 301-37 (4.19). To exit Level 3, the program must ensure the apprentice:
  • demonstrates competence in Teacher Quality Standards 1 and 3;
  • completes Level 3 assessments as defined by the program and meets state licensure requirements to demonstrate content competency as outlined 1 CCR 301-37 (3.01(1)(e)) of; and
  • completes a minimum of 1,000 hours of on-the-job learning as a registered teacher apprentice in direct student teaching activities or as an identified teacher of record.
  • Special education teacher apprentices are not eligible to exit Level 3 or start their teacher of record yearlong requirement until they have conferred a bachelor’s. (Per federal IDEA regulations, all special education teachers must, at a minimum, hold an earned bachelor’s degree.)
• Level 4: Trained Apprentice
  To exit Level 4, the program must ensure the apprentice:
  • Is on track to meet all requirements to obtain a bachelor's degree;
  • completes a minimum of 1,000 hours of on-the-job learning as a registered teacher apprentice and identified teacher of record, as defined by the approved program application per SAA requirements;
  • demonstrates competency in Teacher Qualify Standards 1-4; and
  • meets all requirements to obtain a Colorado initial teacher license upon program completion.
• Level 5: Completer
  To complete a Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program and qualify for initial teacher licensure, the apprentice must:
  • work as a teacher of record for a minimum of one year and complete a minimum of 4,500 hours of on-the-job learning cumulatively over the course of the program as a registered teacher apprentice per SAA requirements (Office of Apprenticeship Circular 2016-01. Guidelines for Competency-based Hybrid and Time-based Apprenticeship Training Approaches).
  • If an apprentice completes an approved induction program as part of their apprenticeship program, they may then qualify for a professional teacher license.

As this is a pathway to first-time teacher licensure, eligible teacher apprentice candidates must not already hold a bachelor’s or higher degree. (Individuals holding bachelor’s degrees may pursue alternative teacher preparation.) The teacher apprentice must hold a teacher apprenticeship authorization as specified in 1 CCR 301-37 (4.19). 

Requirements to receive a teacher apprenticeship authorization, a person must:

• be employed by a school district, BOCES or charter school as a teacher apprentice;
• be actively registered in a teacher apprenticeship program; and
• be actively enrolled in an affiliated bachelor’s degree program from an accredited institution.
• Teacher apprentices may not be participating in an approved alternative teacher preparation program.

While under the teacher apprenticeship authorization, the following are allowable roles for a teacher apprentice:

• Level 1: Pre-Apprentice does not require the teacher apprenticeship authorization but may allow for substitute teaching if the applicant meets substitute teaching authorization requirements as outlined in 1 CCR 301-37 (4.5).
• Level 2: Beginner Apprentice requires each apprentice either hold a Colorado substitute authorization, obtain Colorado student teaching criminal history record check as outlined in CRS 22-2-119.3 or obtain the teacher apprenticeship authorization. Allowable activities include substitute teaching, student teaching and/or participation in a residency model.
• Level 3: Intermediate Apprentice continues Level 2 authorization requirements and allowable student teaching activities and/or participation in a residency model. This level may include starting the required one-year minimum of teacher apprentice working as the teacher of record as required in 22-60.5-111.5(1)(d).  Prior to starting the year-long teacher of record requirement, the apprentice must obtain the teacher apprenticeship authorization. Demonstration of content competency through passing score on the appropriate state board of education-approved content exam or portfolio equivalents as defined by endorsement area is required to complete this level.
• Level 4: Trained Apprentice will culminate in a minimum of one year as teacher of record as required in 22-60.5-111.5(1)(d). To be eligible for completion, apprentices must meet all requirements to obtain a Colorado initial teacher license upon program completion.  In order to acquire a professional teaching license the teacher apprentice must meet all the criteria for an initial teacher license and complete an induction program as prescribed in 1 CCR 301-37(8.00).

A teacher apprenticeship authorization is valid for four years while the apprentice completes the bachelor’s degree and on-the-job training requirements of the program. The authorization may be renewed twice, for two-year periods, as necessary for the teacher apprentice to fulfill apprenticeship requirements.

The authorization automatically will be revoked should the apprentice withdraw from the teacher apprenticeship program or from the affiliated bachelor’s degree program. The Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program sponsor may revoke the authorization if the teacher apprentice does not make satisfactory progress in the teacher apprenticeship program, as determined by the employer. 

• When a teacher apprentice withdraws from the Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program or affiliated bachelor’s degree program, or should the sponsor revoke the authorization, the Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program sponsor must notify the Colorado Department of Education of the withdrawal or revocation.

A schedule of progressively increasing wages to be paid to the apprentice consistent with the skill acquired. The entry wage must not be less than the highest applicable minimum wage prescribed by the Fair Labor Standards Act, by Colorado or (to the extent applicable) local statutes or rules, or by a collective bargaining agreement (7 CCR 1108-1).

Mentor teachers are selected at the full discretion of the employer and carry the responsibility, in conjunction with program evaluators and administrators of evaluating teacher apprentices on the Colorado Teacher Quality standards and licensure area content standards.

Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program Sponsors are responsible for ensuring mentor teachers are trained and supported to conduct apprentice observation and feedback cycles. The Colorado Teacher Quality Standards and license area content standards are independently and exclusively evaluated by the apprentice mentor teacher, program administrator or program evaluator. Employers and Sponsors will Identify a numeric ratio of apprentices to mentor teachers for the workforce, which must be approved by the State Apprenticeship Agency (7 CCR 1108-1).

Teacher Degree Apprenticeship Program sponsors will ensure the program design, application and corresponding material submissions are in alignment with all local collective bargaining agreement components, including job classification and pay scale requirements, and submit evidence of agreement with the local association leaders at the time of application to the Colorado Department of Education.