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This summer, the at the Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØ celebrated its fifth anniversary–a milestone made possible by the dedication of teachers, partners and supporters in Colorado and beyond. It wasn’t always a foregone conclusion that this program would succeed, which makes this moment all the more special.

The program launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to address a significant gap in educational opportunities for rural teachers. The Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØBoard of Regents, acknowledging the university’s land-grant mission to serve rural populations around the state, gave the School of Education a grant to develop an innovative program that would provide accessible, affordable professional development opportunities for teachers.

From the very beginning, this program was shaped by teachers themselves. My colleagues, Dan Liston and Paula Battistelli, and I traveled around the state for two years listening to teachers' needs. What they asked for is a flexible, cost effective and relevant program. Teachers want to enhance their skills without leaving the communities to which they are deeply connected. They want to access learning online with course material that is immediately applicable to their daily work in the classroom.

The program’s flexible design lets teachers choose career-relevant certificates that meet their needs. Over time, they can stack these into a master’s degree. Each certificate in the program focuses on deepening expertise in specific disciplines, like Social and Emotional Learning or Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Teachers can translate what they’re learning in our program into their classrooms so their growth parallels their professional impact.

Our program is unique nationally, not just because of its design, but because it is teacher-centered. The program’s goal is to support teacher retention by helping them find more joy, connection and pedagogic competence in their classrooms. We work to support teacher-led change by positioning teachers as leaders so they can bring new content and praxis to peers and be seen as leaders in their school and communities.

While the genesis of this program was to address the needs of rural teachers, over the last five years we have seen it serve rural, urban and suburban teachers alike, in Colorado and across the nation. Teachers continue to find creative and inspiring ways to make the program their own. As the number of program graduates increases each year, so too do rich communities of practice for teachers. I am continually looking for ways to expand our partnerships and scholarship opportunities to serve even more educators.

I come to work every day with a belief in the power of teachers to transform lives. Together, we are building an educational future rooted in curiosity, care and human dignity–one teacher, one classroom and one school at a time. I invite you to celebrate this milestone with us and to imagine what the next five years might bring.

Emily Gleason
Faculty Director, Teacher Leadership Program