Utah Teacher's Journey From Paraprofessional to Certification

Rebecca Coleman

I worked as a special education paraprofessional for one and a half years in my current Utah school district. I had graduated in art and found that I wasn't going very far in my chosen field. I was struggling financially and my boss had encouraged me several times to try to obtain a teacher certification. I didn't think it was possible until I found ABCTE.

I happened upon it in my search for a place to attend school. It was inexpensive and independent. I immediately began looking for jobs. Working in the school district helped, and I informed some district personnel that I was looking for employment. A week later I was told there was someone who would want to interview me. I got a call the following day saying they wanted to hire me as a teacher!

I worked for a full year teaching K-6 special education. It was difficult but so incredibly worth it! I took my elementary education content exam first and passed on the first try after studying everything on the standards and reading a lot of history channel articles (that's what I worried about the most, the history.) I passed my exam July 2011 and took my PTK (Professional Teaching Knowledge) exam in September 2011, again passing on the first attempt. I went through the online Prepare to Teach workshops several times, writing down all of my notes very carefully, and Googled any unfamiliar terminology. I passed my special education exam October 2011 on the first attempt as well.

I honestly believe I wouldn't have done as well if I hadn't already been working in the field for so long and if I hadn't been studying so much in any spare moment. I have loved the flexibility of the program and how quickly I was able to complete it. I am thrilled to be teaching a second year and am so excited to continue on for many years to come!