Colorado teaches nearly 900,000 students in almost 2,000 schools. (2) And in 2020, public schools had 6,910 open teaching positions—some of which never got filled. (3)
In short, Colorado needs more educators, from teaching assistants to classroom teachers.
If you’re passionate about education and community work, there are big opportunities to make an impact in Colorado.
If you’re wondering about the requirements to become a teacher in Colorado, you’ve come to the right place.
To become a Colorado teacher, you’ll need to complete a few steps. Here’s the short version (10):
Becoming a teacher in Colorado can sound like a lot—but that’s where TEACH Colorado comes in! We’re here for you every step of the way, from choosing the right program to completing your applications to preparing for licensure tests.
Visit our About Licensure page for a full explanation and (free!) downloadable PDF that covers the licensure process from start to finish.
Sign up for access to everything we offer, right from your dashboard.
It’s all FREE and brought to you by the Colorado Department of Education and our statewide partners.
Learn how you can start a high-demand career and make a difference for Colorado students.
Educators are in high demand, and teaching positions are expected to grow by 7 to 8 percent in the coming decade. (1) Find out how and where you can be part of that growth, and build a sustainable, fulfilling career while you give back to your community.
Whatever your background, as a Colorado educator, you can help create more inclusive, culturally responsive classrooms. Students with disabilities, students who are new to the country and students who live in low-income or rural areas especially need strong advocates and imaginative educators.
If you’re inspired to make a difference for students, you can have a big effect working in an educator shortage area.
The state of Colorado listed these shortage areas for the 2022-2023 school year:
Ready to explore job openings in education? Check out the district job boards on our alternative licensure page. You can also visit the Colorado Department of Education’s Colorado Teaching Jobs page. Under “I Have an Educator License,” you’ll find links to education job boards across the state. Don’t be scared off by the heading! Most of these boards also feature openings for education roles that don’t require a teaching license.
When you hear the term “shortage area,” you might be wondering why these areas are so hard to fill. There are a lot of reasons why the areas listed above have staffing shortages. We’ll go over a few of those here.
If you’re curious about teaching, but not sure if it’s right for you, we have good news: You don’t have to commit right away! There are a lot of ways you can gain education experience and get a sense of the work before you pursue a teaching license.
If you’re curious about teaching, but not sure if it’s right for you, we have good news: You don’t have to commit right away!
There are a lot of ways you can gain education experience and get a sense of the work before you pursue a teaching license. For example, you can consider:
What do these jobs look like? In the next section, we’ll go over a few classroom roles and what to expect.
