Rural Opportunity,Through Apprenticeship - Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed

Howard isn’t originally from Exeter, a town of roughly 700 people, but she grew up on her family’s cattle farm in a similarly rural area just a half hour away. Over her years in school, she was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia, and she struggled to get the support she needed. Now, she’s training to teach kids like her through Pathways for Paraprofessionals, a registered apprenticeship program sponsored by Missouri State University. The apprenticeship advances paraprofessionals like Howard, who are already assisting high-needs students in Missouri classrooms, toward bachelor’s or master’s degrees in special education through on-the-job training and coursework. Apprentices also work toward their teaching certifications. While the program doesn’t exclusively train rural teachers, it’s explicitly designed for them, with all classes taught online by Missouri State professors or virtually or in-person in local school districts by K–12 teachers and administrators. Fundamental to the earn-and-learn apprenticeship model, paraprofessionals continue to work full-time during their training.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/alternative-credentials/2026/05/26/rural-opportunity-through-apprenticeship