Every morning at 7:45, Diana Valle walks into Madeline English School, a public K-8 school in Everett, with a single goal: to give her students the strongest possible start. She greets each child, makes sure they’ve had breakfast, and then begins the core of her work as a paraprofessional, assisting kindergarten teacher Maria Craig with reading, writing, spelling and math lessons.

It’s a schedule she’s followed since fall 2024, a few months after graduating from Everett High School.

“I completely fell in love with it the first year,” says Valle, speaking of her experience as part of Everett Public Schools’ Education Pathway program, where she spent her mornings working at a local middle school before attending classes in the afternoon. “That’s when I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I want to do.’ ”

For many aspiring teachers, the challenge of realizing that dream is severalfold: To teach in Massachusetts, you must earn a bachelor’s degree, complete at least 150 hours of teacher preparation and pass licensure exams—all before spending two to three years as a supervised student teacher. For Valle, the first in her family to go to college, even the first step—earning a bachelor’s degree—felt daunting. She was accepted to Bunker Hill Community College right out of high school and went all the way through orientation before imposter syndrome crept in. She took a gap year instead of continuing at BHCC. While working as a paraprofessional, Valle heard about a new opportunity: an apprenticeship associate degree at BHCC, designed specifically for paraprofessionals like her to work full-time while completing coursework toward a degree and future teaching career.

“It was the motivation and direction I needed to pursue becoming a kindergarten teacher,” she says.

Since August, Valle has completed her first two courses, which are offered in the afternoons or asynchronously, so students can complete coursework when and where it is best for them. 

That imposter syndrome? It’s quieted by being part of the first cohort of students who are working as paraprofessionals from Everett and Chelsea Public Schools—BHCC’s partner districts—earning a degree together.

For Valle, the program delivers exactly what she needed: a built-in support system, coursework aligned with what she’s experiencing in the classroom, professors who understand the demands on working students, and crucially, the ability to pursue a degree without giving up income.

That’s by design.

“Apprenticeship degrees and certificates are allowing us to capture a whole new group of students that may not have been able to go through the traditional route at Bunker Hill—and give them confidence to move forward with their goals,” says Teresa Lefebvre, senior director of Internships, Apprenticeships and Careers.

Apprenticeship degree programs like the one Valle is pursuing are redefining not only what a strong start looks like for her students, but also for the future professionals who teach them. They’re also doing more than just preparing future teachers; they’re reshaping how Massachusetts—and the nation—grows its workforce.

A New Age of Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are hardly new. As early as the 18th century BCE, the Code of Hammurabi of Babylon required artisans to teach their crafts to the next generation. In Boston, they date to at least 1718, when Benjamin Franklin famously began an apprenticeship as a printer and publisher under his brother at age 12.

“Everything that comes along with apprenticeships has made it a viable workforce development tool for hundreds of years,” says Lara Thomas, director of the Division of Apprentice Standards for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. 

Thomas oversees Registered Apprenticeships, programs governed by the national framework established under the 1937 Fitzgerald Act, which outline federal fairness and safety standards. For much of American history, however, higher education and training in the trades were viewed in opposition, requiring people to choose one or the other. 

That stance is shifting. 

“Apprenticeships work great with higher education providing the required technical instruction,” Thomas says. “Since 2023, the Healey-Driscoll administration has awarded $12 million in grants to expand apprenticeships beyond the trades. Some of these grants include partnerships with higher education aimed at making apprenticeships a part of this system, not an alternative to it.” 

Also known as Earn and Learn, these programs are a major component of Registered Apprenticeships and reflect a nationwide movement to combine paid on-the-job training with a college degree. Although individual programs have existed for years, teacher preparation is the most in-demand model, followed by nursing. Both are focused on addressing critical workforce shortages, including an estimated 50,000 teacher vacancies nationwide. 

The benefit of Earn and Learn programs is twofold: helping industries fill essential roles while expanding access to higher education for Americans who can’t afford to stop working. 

“Apprenticeship degree models guarantee students can both earn a degree for free without losing income,” says Wissal Nouchrif, interim dean of professional studies at BHCC. “For our population of students, every decision has to be considered in terms of the trade-off of school, family or work. College apprenticeships let them avoid those sacrifices.”

It’s a win for employers, too. With tuition covered through MassEducate and MassReconnect, organizations have less to invest, making participation more appealing to all involved.

Stronger Pathways for Students, Stronger Retention for Employers

Kristen McKenna, Dean of Workforce and Economic Development, has championed apprenticeship programs. She is no stranger to apprenticeships. Before joining BHCC, she worked with apprentices in a labor union, where she saw firsthand that it typically takes three years—or longer—to go from a pre-apprenticeship to an apprenticeship. Completing requirements for a position—for example, an electrical journeyman—can  take up to seven or eight years.

McKenna helped develop BHCC’s first apprenticeship program in 2019: a certificate for medical assistants. Since then, the College has offered several more, including an associate degree in early childhood development in partnership with the Ellis Learning Center in Boston and a program in research administration and compliance with Tufts University. In fall 2026, BHCC will add a certificate in social work with Children’s Services of Roxbury. 

“We can offer an apprenticeship in almost any way that an employer wants, whether it’s large or small, credit-bearing or not,” says McKenna. “What matters most is the on-the-job training and how it reinforces what students learn in the classroom. Our goal is to offer apprenticeships in almost every occupation or content area that BHCC now offers.”

The results, she says, speak for themselves. Roughly 90% of employees who complete apprenticeships stay with their employer.

Smith Family Fund Grant Boosts Expansion

In mid-2025, BHCC formalized and expanded apprenticeship degree programs thanks to a $750,000 grant from the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation. Together with Accelerate the Future, the foundation established a $4 million Apprenticeship Degree Innovation Fund to support Massachusetts community and technical colleges in building internal staffing capacity to design, implement and evaluate these programs. 

“Apprenticeship degrees apply a tried-and-true training and development model that is widespread in the skilled trades and construction and applies it to additional occupations and sectors,” says Marjorie Ringrose, Director of Education at the Smith Family Foundation. “They’re a threefer. They’re good for employers. They’re good for colleges. And they’re good for student-apprentices. It’s like lightning in a bottle.”

Four community colleges and three nonprofits received funding in the first round, with BHCC awarded nearly triple the amount of any other institution—reflecting, says Ringrose, the College’s “proven leadership, long history of innovating and delivering exceptional programs.”  

BHCC used the grant to restructure what was the Office of Internships and Career Development into the Internship, Apprenticeship, and Career Center and to fund an adviser who works with students to ensure they meet academic requirements and stay on track to complete the 2,000 hours required for their apprenticeship.

“These programs require a lot of structure and support,” says Lefebvre. “We check in with employers frequently, and our apprenticeship adviser meets with students weekly to talk about how they’re doing in their class, how they’re doing in their job, and how we can best support them along the way. We really want to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks.” 

That has certainly been true for Valle.

“Being the first in your family to go to college can be very scary and nerve-racking,” she says. “I didn’t think I could do this, but it’s amazing how Bunker Hill has made the program flexible and free so I can work and go to school, not worry about money, and have a built-in support system.”

In the end, that freedom and support offer more than a pathway to a degree and career. At BHCC, they’re providing Valle and students like her with the same strong start she’s committed to giving her kindergarteners every day.