In a small but mighty corner of northwest Louisiana, Bossier Parish Schools has rewritten the playbook on how to solve its qualified teacher shortage – and the answer starts from within. Through a transformative partnership with Reach University, launched in August 2022, Bossier Parish has invested in its own workforce to fill its hardest-to-staff subject- and grade-level teaching positions.
The result? A rapidly expanding pipeline of local, homegrown teachers who transformed their job into degrees and teaching careers.
In less than two years, eleven Bossier Parish employees have graduated from Reach’s Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies and Global Education programs – with an additional 50+ educators closely behind.
“Bossier Parish Schools educators and staff are simply exceptional,” said Dr. Tracey Burrell, Head of Recruitment and Retention for Bossier Parish Schools. “It has been our district’s vision to support every member of our school community in achieving their career dreams as they realize their highest potential. Our partnership with Reach has helped to bring this vision to life.”
“To see members of our support staff ‘start their journey’ with Reach University, complete degree requirements with zero debt, and move into full-time teaching roles is transformational,” Dr. Burrell continues. “This program is working, our locally-built teacher pipeline is growing, and we are excited to watch our Reach graduates Start, Stay, and Soar with Bossier Schools.”
At the heart of this program are passionate, courageous, and high-impact educators – such as Jessie Ford, Lakeshia Fuller-Russell, and Sherice King, three newly licensed teachers – who used Reach’s job-embedded teacher training to turn everyday work into college credit, classrooms into a university learning space, and their dreams into reality. Here are their stories.
Jessie Ford, a former special education paraprofessional and now a Distance Learning Lab Facilitator at Haughton High School, grew up around the world as a self-proclaimed “military brat.” But she graduated from Haughton following her family’s time at Barksdale Air Force Base and came back to Bossier Parish to raise her family.
“I love working with kids and watching them grow into amazing people,” Jessie shared. “When I had my own children, I knew I wanted a career that allowed me to be present in their lives. Teaching just made sense.”
Like for so many working adults, Jessie’s journey to a degree wasn’t linear. She attended Louisiana Tech and Bossier Parish Community College before transferring to Reach.
“I loved both of those schools,” she said, “but Reach was just a better fit. It felt like the program was built for people like me – people with families, jobs, and full plates.”
“The professors were realistic in their expectations, knowing we all worked in schools and had families,” Jessie continued. “The courses are specifically designed for teaching and relevant to what our future holds – no random classes we’d never use. I absolutely loved the flexibility, and if there was ever a conflict, the professors were extremely accommodating. They were AMAZING with that!”
With three kids in multiple sports, a husband on call in the oilfield, coaching two athletic teams, holding a leadership position at a nonprofit, and a small business to run, Jessie still managed to complete her bachelor’s degree with a 3.74 GPA – all while working full-time in her school.
“I would tell other paras to do it! It seems hard and scary at first, but it's manageable. The program cuts out all the extra fluff, gives you exactly what you need to be successful. All you have to do is put in the time.”
Jessie’s story is not an outlier. It speaks to the design of an Apprenticeship Degree: job-embedded, affordable, and credit-bearing for the work done each and every day. Jessie didn’t pause her job to earn a degree. Her job led to her degree.
“No one should be forced to choose between a job and a degree,” she said. “Reach made sure I didn’t have to. If Reach ever offers a master’s program here in Louisiana, I’d jump in head first!”
Lakeshia Fuller-Russell’s journey into teaching wasn’t a straight line either. Born in Bossier City and raised in Los Angeles, she trained to be a medical assistant, then pivoted to criminal justice, then business entrepreneurship, and finally, teaching.
As a library aide at Meadowview Elementary for over eight years, Lakeshia was deeply immersed in school life long before earning a degree. What she didn’t have was a pathway forward – until Reach.
“When I started Reach, everything clicked,” she said. “Transferring my associate credits couldn’t have been easier, and the two years flew by. The program was fast-paced but flexible. I really enjoyed the course structure – mastering one complex subject at a time each term. It was nothing like other online courses I’ve taken. We weren’t just logging into a program. We were building a community.”
“I wasn’t just learning. I was applying my learnings each day. The process was exciting!”
“I discovered that I have the patience and time to guide students to success in both expected and unexpected ways,” she continued. “Poetry is something I value, and Reach gave me the opportunity to help students express themselves through writing. My learners went on to publish a book of their own poetry and illustrations. That process molded and inspired not only them – but me too.”
For Sherice King, the path to teaching began not in a classroom, but at home. Originally from the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, Sherice first envisioned a legal career. But everything changed when she began teaching her own daughters, Skylar and Sierra, how to read.
“Giving them the gift of literacy was the catalyst for my journey into K-12 education,” she shared. “Now, I strive to ignite that same fire for learning in my students.”
“My experience at Reach was one of a kind. The program is well structured and engaging. I was able to graduate debt-free while gaining invaluable on-the-job training and balancing my everyday life,” she said. “Even though transferring international associate credits was overwhelming at first, Reach helped me find a pathway and supported me the whole way.”
Today, Sherice is a licensed special education teacher at R.V. Kerr Elementary, happily serving first- and second-grade students.
“I’ve come full circle,” she reflected. “I’ve learnt that I’m an advocate for diverse learning. Through differentiation strategies I can target the individual needs of my students. I also support inclusion both in and beyond the classroom. I’m proud to be a Reach alumna and a product of the Bossier Parish school system.”
Her advice to other aspiring teachers? “Go for it. I’ve been recommending Reach’s Apprenticeship Degree to other paraprofessionals since the day I started. It’s a great opportunity for continuing education.”
The Bossier Parish–Reach partnership offers a powerful example of how solutions to our nation’s toughest talent shortages are often hidden in plain sight.
This spring Bossier Parish will celebrate seven new Reach graduates. Seven more lives changed. Seven more classrooms with a qualified teacher at its helm. Seven more math, computer science, and AI-confident educators.
For Bossier Parish Schools, this is more than a solution to a shortage. It’s a commitment to excellence for every member of the school community.
And for Reach? It’s the driving force behind a partnership-powered, working adult-centered model – where no one has to choose between their present and their future.
When jobs become degrees, communities grow stronger. And in Bossier Parish, that future is already here.
Explore employer partnership opportunities and get started with Fall '25 admissions today: https://reach.edu/admission.