March 7, 2024
Ferris State, Rockford Public Schools and Michigan Department of Education Partner to Help Address K-12 Teacher Shortage
Nikki Zupin is thrilled to be a Bulldog again.
Rockford High School paraprofessional Sarah Grove is among 25 peers on her way to
earning no-cost teaching degrees at Ferris State University through “Grow Your Own”
grants from the Michigan Department of Education.
The Rockford High School paraprofessional and 24 of her colleagues are on their way to earning no-cost teaching degrees at Ferris State University thanks to “Grow Your Own” staff grants from the Michigan Department of Education.
Designed to help Michigan reduce PK-12 teacher shortages by developing educators from within their ranks, the Grow Your Own grants cover tuition for current staff to earn their teaching certification, additional endorsements or master’s degrees.
“This is truly a life-changing opportunity for our staff and, therefore, for our students,” said Lisa Jacobs, executive director of community services at Rockford Public Schools. “We are so thankful to our university partners such as Ferris State for collaborating with us to make this huge impact in our classrooms.”
Rockford Public Schools is one of 139 districts and consortia awarded a total of nearly $128 million last year in two rounds of Grow Your Own grants. The Rockford district received more than $3.8 million in May and $4.6 million in December 2023, Jacobs said.
The grants help ensure that more Michigan students will have access to high-quality instruction.
“Grow Your Own programs provide an opportunity for schools to develop educators from within their districts and benefit from their successful experiences working with children,” said State Superintendent Dr. Michael Rice.
That’s exactly what happened for Zupin. She loves her job as a paraprofessional at Rockford High School. And yet …
“It’s always been my dream to finish my degree and become a full-time teacher,” she said.
Zupin started a teaching degree at Ferris in 2000, but moved to Wisconsin with her husband, Josh, before completing it. She earned an associate degree before she and her family relocated in 2018 to Rockford. Her three children attend Rockford schools and she began working there five years ago as a substitute and paraprofessional.
“I’ve always wanted to go back and finish my bachelor’s degree, but a lot of it was just time and money,” she said.
Finding out in October she was one of the Rockford staff selected for the tuition-free program at Ferris was like winning the lottery, she said.
“I walked out of the classroom and saw all our administrators standing in the hall wearing their Ferris shirts and cheering for me. I instantly burst into tears of complete joy … it was awesome,” Zupin said.
Jacobs was one of the administrators with the lucky job of surprising staffers they’d received the Grow Your Own grant.
“I’ve been with the district 30 years and I can honestly say it was probably one of the best days of my career,” Jacobs said. “The excitement and smiles on their faces were just priceless.”
Thanks to first-round grant funding, Jacobs said 25 support staff are enrolled at Ferris, along with 18 at Michigan State University. Another 15 support staff members will be selected this spring to pursue initial teaching certificates through FSU, along with 15 certified Rockford teachers pursuing advanced degrees or certificates at Ferris.
Zupin didn’t waste any time and immediately enrolled at Ferris. She completed her first elementary education class over winter break and is now enrolled in four online classes while working part-time at Rockford High.
“I think it’s just this mad determination that I have this opportunity and I’m not going to mess it up,” she said. “I’m 41 and I want to have as much time as possible making an even bigger difference with children and to know I did it … I got my degree and I never gave up.”