• Current FNSBSD ESSA employees, including paraprofessionals, instructional assistants, and any instructional support staff, who wish to pursue a degree in education and earn their teaching certification.
• Current FNSBSD FEA employees who are on a district-sponsored emergency certificate and need to enroll in a program to earn their teaching certification.

Apprentices work full-time in a student-facing role while taking college courses in the evenings. You receive a paycheck and benefits while earning your degree and certification.

The UAF Apprentice program is structured to take two years, including summer classes in the initial summer. 

UAF has apprenticeship pathways in the following areas:

• Elementary Education
• Special Education
• Secondary Education

• 1st year tuition payment through the Department of Labor and UAF
• Mentorship from a certified teacher
• Structured on-the-job learning hours and progress monitoring
• Guidance and support from FNSBSD
• University supervision, advising, and support from UAF

Complete the application through the district’s portal. The application window for the 2026 cohort is January 5-23. 

The locations for the apprentice positions will be determined by the apprentices' and mentors' locations.  If the apprentice is not currently in a student-facing role, they may apply for the apprenticeship, but their participation will depend on their moving into a student-facing role. 

The program is an “earn while you learn” model, and teacher apprentices must be employed with FNSBSD. Both ESSA and FEA employees are eligible to participate in the program if they meet the program's eligibility requirements.

The selection committee will follow a rubric that considers factors such as years of experience, current location, and principal recommendations.

Upon completion of the program, the apprentice will be qualified to be a general education classroom teacher. They will follow routine FNSBSD hiring procedures to be placed as a classroom teacher.

Yes, applicants will need to reapply for each new apprenticeship cohort. The district will advertise for future cohorts in collaboration with UAF.

The program is approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and sponsored by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED).

Even better, the FNSBSD/UAF partnership is built with support from DEED, which provides grants to cover tuition costs through the first year of the program. Future sustainable funding is still being pursued to support tuition costs for the second year of the program. 

All apprenticeship program coursework at UAF is offered after school hours (late afternoon,  evenings) and through distance delivery