Seniors sign to become future educators
“I’ve always been really passionate about teaching.”
John Krug, III, a senior at Eaglecrest High School, is well on his way to realizing his dream of becoming a teacher. For the past year, he has worked two days a week as a paraeducator or teacher’s aide in classrooms at Sunrise Elementary and Sky Vista Middle School.
“I just love seeing kids grow in the classroom and seeing them develop into the little humans that they are,” he said.
Krug is an apprentice in the Cherry Creek School District’s Future Educator Pathway (FEP), a program that gives high school juniors and seniors a paid, part-time, paraeducator position in a CCSD elementary or middle school. At the same time, those students take up to 20 hours of college courses related to education at the Cherry Creek Innovation Campus (CCIC).
Heidie Beisner is also an FEP apprentice, thanks to a suggestion from her counselor.
“My counselor said ‘You should be a teacher. You would be amazing!’ Beisner recalled. “I said ‘Ok’ and she introduced me to this pathway. I fell in love! I love working with kids, I love everything education, and I’m very passionate about it.”
There are currently 53 students in the Future Educator Pathway, including Krug, Beisner, and 20 other seniors who attended the FEP Signing Ceremony on April 28 at CCIC.
The seniors were joined by parents and other family members, as well as two teachers; one was a teacher they had been working with this year, and the other was one of their own teachers who had made a significant impact on them. As those special guests looked on, each student signed a certificate symbolizing their commitment to become educators.
Krug will attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins this fall to pursue a degree in secondary education with a focus on family and consumer sciences. Beisner will attend the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley where she will major in secondary education and minor in legal studies.
Other students committed to participate in CCSD’s Aspiring Educator Program in conjunction with Community College of Aurora. Those students will continue to work in Cherry Creek schools with a master teacher while earning their education degree. They will get some 4,000 hours of student teaching experience, compared to the 750 hours of experience students typically get in a traditional education degree program.
The goal of both the Future Educator Pathway and the Aspiring Educator Program is to help stem the critical national shortage of qualified teachers, and to keep those qualified teachers working in CCSD after their college graduation.
Krug and Beisner say the hands-on experience they’ve already gained through the FEP apprenticeship has been invaluable, helping them understand the realities and responsibilities of being a teacher, and affirming their desire to be part of the profession.
“Until you’re really in the classroom, doing lesson plans and all of that, you don’t fully understand what teaching is like,” Krug said. “So being able to be in an apprenticeship, I’ve been able to have real-world experience for the last year to really prepare me for it.”
Congratulations to the Class of 2025 Future Educator Program signees!
Audrey Austin, Smoky Hill High School
Heidie Beisner, Grandview High School
Michaela Chambers, Grandview High School
Courtney Clark, Cherry Creek High School
Matthew Dye, Eaglecrest High School
Lily Gaede, Cherokee Trail High School
David Garcia, Overland High School
Laela Haggerty, Cherry Creek Elevation
Dhurgham Hashim, Overland High School
Reese Hesting, Eaglecrest High School
Julianna Hulbert, Cherry Creek Elevation
John Krug III, Eaglecrest High School
Chase Melander, Endeavor Academy
Cameron "Cami" Mojica, Grandview High School
Crew Pfalmer, Cherokee Trail High School
Esperanza Ramirez, Overland High School
Natalie Replogle, Eaglecrest High School
Ryan Shirack, Grandview High School
Carter Steine, Overland High School
Abigail Torpey, Cherokee Trail High School
Samantha Williams, Smoky Hill High School