EXAMINING THE EXPERIENCES OF PARAPROFESSIONAL OF COLOR IN AN ONLINE GROW YOUR OWN TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

A major shift over the past twenty years has been how teachers are prepared and credentialed given the teacher shortage.This qualitative study provides a detailed analysis of how five paraprofessionals of Color perceptions evolved during their first year in an online Grow Your Own (GYO) teacher education program.By examining the experiences, victories, and challenges of these non-traditional students we hoped to gain insights into the realities of participating in a GYO program and can then better support future students in this program.Findings suggest that given the need for teachers, particularly teachers of Color, teacher education programs must be in tune with the needs of these non-traditional students to support them best.This work may be a partial answer to addressing teacher shortage.