DENVER — When Jolene Phillips decided to go back to school to become a special education teacher, the 52-year-old had already spent nearly two decades in the classroom as an aide.

She graduated from Western Colorado University last year, a feat she said was made possible by a $10,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Education.

“It really made it easier knowing that I could focus more on my studies and the job in front of me versus thinking about the additional costs that were going to be incurred after graduation,” said Phillips, who now works as a special education teacher at Cañon City Middle School.

For the past three years, the education department has doled out grants worth up to $10,000 apiece to help future teachers seeking their licenses.

The initiative — called the Educator Recruitment and Retention program — was created via legislation four years ago to combat Colorado’s teacher shortage, especially in special education and rural communities.

More than 2,000 people, including Phillips, have received grants from the program since its creation. The education department is accepting applications for the 2025-26 year until Sept. 30.

“This program helps ease the financial burden for aspiring educators and opens the door for more people to bring their talent into Colorado classrooms,” state Education Commissioner Susana Córdova said in a statement.

Colorado school districts have struggled with widespread staffing shortages since the pandemic, from bus drivers to teachers.

While districts reported fewer shortages during the 2024-25 academic year, 2,796 positions still either went unfilled or were covered by other mechanisms, such as long-term substitute teachers, according to the latest data from the education department.

The state’s Educator Recruitment and Retention program aims to address the teacher shortage by helping educators like paraprofessionals obtain their teaching licenses. To qualify, grant recipients must commit to teaching in a shortage area — such as in special education — for at least three years.

“The program focuses on supporting aspiring educators that are working toward their professional license, which we know is the greatest indicator of retention long-term,” said Margarita Tovar, chief talent officer for the education department.

About 80% of people who have received grants through the program are still working in a classroom a year or more after receiving the support, she said.

“The program is not just helping get people into the field, but it’s helping keep folks in their career as well,” Tovar said.

Phillips was a paraprofessional — or teacher’s aide — for 19 years before she decided to go back to school and get her teaching license — a decision she made to receive better pay and retirement benefits.

“My biggest incentive was the difference in pay in retirement,” Phillips said.

She worked as a long-term substitute teacher for two years while in school. But the grant from the education department allowed Phillips to focus on her studies without needing a part-time job.

Phillips graduated last year at the same time her youngest daughter finished high school. She was 51 at the time.

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