A Paraprofessional at 42, a Teacher at 52: Sheila Brewer’s Reach Journey

Not everyone chooses the same path to achieve their life goals. Sheila Brewer spent 28 years working in the Lincoln Consolidated Schools system in Lincoln, Arkansas, before finally chasing her dreams of becoming a teacher.

Sheila Brewer wanted to work with kids for as long as she could remember. She was the cousin everyone wanted to hang around, the one who gravitated toward the little ones. She knew education was where she belonged. But Sheila has always been quiet by nature, and the traditional college route just never felt like it was designed for someone like her. But an Apprenticeship Degree, a path that lets you earn a debt-free degree and teaching credential while already working in a classroom, wasn't something she knew existed yet. "I wanted to," she said. "I just couldn't quite make myself do the college thing."

Instead, she showed up daily and did the work she was passionate about anyway. For years, Sheila found ways to still have an impact on the children in her community, even without a degree. She started in a school district daycare in Lincoln, Arkansas, moved up to the high school, then spent the next decade as a special education paraeducator (a classroom support role working directly with students with disabilities), close to the classroom and the work she loved, but without the credentials to call herself a teacher.

That all changed when her school's administrator pulled her aside one fall evening at a football game and told her about Reach University.

Zoom seminars. Affordable tuition on a para's salary. A program built for people already working in schools, where the job itself counts toward credit. "I thought it sounded too good to be true," she said with a shy smile. "But it wasn't. It was just awesome."

Sheila went home, talked it over with her husband, and by the next morning, her mind was made up. She was going back to school. And she was right to do so. Even as one of the most innovative states in the country, Arkansas has faced continued teacher shortages in recent years, particularly in special education. Reach's Apprenticeship Degree is designed specifically to address that by keeping working paraprofessionals in the pipeline rather than asking them to choose between the job or the degree.

What Is an Apprenticeship Degree Program?

Unlike a traditional college program, this path lets candidates earn their degree and teaching credential while working full-time in a school. Coursework is held in the evenings via Zoom seminar, and the classroom experience required for graduation is built into the job a candidate is already doing.

For Sheila, that meant no career gap, no relocation, and no choosing between a paycheck and a degree. "The classes were online (via Zoom), and it was at nighttime, so I was able to keep my job," she said. "Your job went toward credits; it all just kinda worked out."

From Para to Teacher: What the Shift Looks Like

Sheila was 52 when she graduated. She completed Reach's B.A. in Global Education (BAGE) Program and then earned her Special Education (SPED) certification soon after. That required passing two Praxis exams and completing a year-long mentorship within Lincoln High School's special education department. She was able to do all of it at the same school where she had worked as a para for a decade. But she never had to go it alone. Her friends, Teressa Crouch and Chrissy Cuzick, enrolled with her, and they completed the entire program together, including the additional SPED certification.  They are all teaching now.

"I keep saying 'we,'" Sheila laughed, "because she did the whole journey with me."

The transition from para to teacher wasn't instant. "It's hard to make myself think I'm on the same level (as her fellow teachers)," she said. "But I'm getting there."

The Skill She Uses Most

The skill Sheila said stayed with her the most from her time at Reach wasn't a lesson plan format or a classroom management technique. It was something simpler: Build relationships.

"Education to me is more than just teaching," she said. "It's building relationships so students feel valued and know that someone cares. That shapes how she approaches her students now. Every one of them has a different need. If you don't take the time to get to know them, she said, you won't know how to help them.

It's a philosophy her professors reinforced directly. "Build relationships with the students" wasn't just her instinct; she heard it in the classroom, applied it at work the next day, and has carried it into her own teaching ever since.

Sheila’s professors and advisors modeled that same approach in how they showed up for her, too. When she had a question, someone answered it. "They were always there to guide you along," she said. "They didn't just say, 'I'll get to that later.' They were right there."

At 52, Sheila Became a Teacher

The moment it all finally felt real came near the end of the program, after a final capstone presentation. Sheila called her friend that night. "It started sinking in," she said. "We're really gonna be teachers. It's not a dream anymore. It's actually happening." When she thinks about it now, it still catches her. "I'm 52, and after all this time, I finally have my teaching degree. I'm a teacher." She said it the way someone says something they've been waiting a long time to say out loud.

When she talks to people who are on the fence about going back, she doesn't have a complicated answer. "Just keep going. You'll get to the end, and you'll have the degree to show for it." 

She keeps a line written down from one of her administrators: "Be humble, be teachable, and always keep learning." She paused at the end of the interview, searching for the right words.

"I'm just very blessed to have had the opportunity," she said with a grin. "They all helped me — if you wanna say — reach my goal."

Sheila Brewer earned her teaching degree and special education certification through Reach University's Apprenticeship Degree Program. She currently teaches special education at the same high school in Lincoln, Arkansas, where she worked as a para for 10 years.