µÛÍõ»áËù

Since 2000, µÛÍõ»áËù's Center for Urban Education has been enrolling and graduating paraeducators working in local schools, offering a hybrid program that pairs bachelor’s-level coursework with clinical teaching experience that starts the first day of the program. CUE's educator programs have consistently high graduation and placement rates (over 90%) and its students—70% of whom are people of color and 94% of whom are first-generation—bring diversity to Colorado’s educator workforce.

A year ago, Nayzeth Hernandez of Greeley was finishing the first semester of her senior year in high school, preparing to be one of 27 Greeley Central High School students attending the 2022 µÛÍõ»áËù’s Future Teachers Conference with their teacher, Lauren Appelhans ’14. Now, Hernandez is a freshman at µÛÍõ»áËù, with the perspective of a college student majoring in Elementary Education just finishing up her first semester.

University of Northern Colorado School of Teacher Education Professor Suzette Youngs, Ph.D., has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Sears Helgoth Distinguished Teaching Award.

µÛÍõ»áËù is one of 31 public institutions across the state enticing Colorado residents to return to college to earn their certificate or degree by offering financial assistance and support services through the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative’s (COSI) Finish What You Started program.

As a teacher preparation institute, those in µÛÍõ»áËù's College of Natural and Health Sciences take pride in pushing for more physical education classes in Colorado schools, though there is an uphill battle to overcome.

High school and community college students interested in teaching careers have an opportunity to hear from professional educators and gain valuable knowledge about the field during a free two-day event, Feb. 17-18.

µÛÍõ»áËù was selected in a highly competitive grant process, as a recipient of a $850,000 Colorado Scholarship Opportunity Initiative (COSI) Back to Work grant. The funding will provide new career paths for workers displaced by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while also addressing the need for teachers in Colorado’s classrooms.

After three years of working with the Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) and the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), the Colorado State Board of Education voted unanimously on May 12 to fully reauthorize µÛÍõ»áËù’s Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education programs.  

A University of Northern Colorado (µÛÍõ»áËù) faculty member was one of four individuals who received this year’s Edward C. Pomeroy Award for Outstanding Contributions to Teacher Education from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).

In a never-ending quest to fuel the teaching pipeline in Colorado and nationwide, the University of Northern Colorado virtually hosted its sixth annual Future Teacher Conference on Feb. 19 with keynote speaker Governor Jared Polis.