Robyn Ridgley, associate dean of Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education, recently bid farewell to her five-student cohort from the state’s “Grow Your Own” grant program to take the helm of their own classrooms this school year. 

“Each of them worked so very hard to learn as much as they could in their coursework and their school settings,” Ridgley said. “Many of them were juggling lots of things — full-time jobs, family and school. Although it was not easy, they stuck it out and completed the program in the timeframe we planned.” 

The Tennessee Department of Education’s “Grow Your Own” grant provided funding for educational assistants — support staff who work alongside a classroom teacher — to concurrently complete two-year graduate degrees in special education and earn their teaching license while covering their tuition, textbooks, teacher licensure assessments and other costs. 

Ridgley partnered with Murfreesboro City Schools to select educational-assistant candidates who went through MTSU’s Master of Education in Special Education program.  

Candidates Bre Clark, Ariel Davie, Ruth Gonzalez-Hill, Brittany Jackson and Nichelle Shelton graduated in August and are almost a month into the fall semester now as fully-fledged special education teachers. 

Gonzalez-Hill said being hired on by the district she had worked in as an assistant for so many years is special. 

“Especially because I was inspired and encouraged by so many of the people that I work with,” said the El Paso, Texas, native.

Shelton agreed that returning to the district as a teacher to apply her MTSU-acquired knowledge and skills is exciting. 

“I will experience first-day butterflies because I want to do my best and give my students everything they need to succeed in the classroom,” said Shelton, a Nashville, Tennessee, resident.  

Both women said Ridgley was instrumental to their success, helping them with everything from work-life balance to procuring all the right textbooks. 

“Dr. Ridgley was phenomenal,” Gonzalez-Hill said. “She met with us regularly to see how we were doing and communicated with us about all the things we needed to be doing. She observed us in our work and teaching environments and provided meaningful feedback. She was supportive and encouraging all the way through.” 

Said Shelton: “Dr. Ridgley took care of every little thing for us…. There was never a time when we were unsure of what to do.”

They both added that the college itself greatly supported them — faculty had an “open-door” policy, available to provide students with any extra help necessary for assignments, and professors also took the candidates’ full-time work commitment into consideration. The graduate program’s instruction was also directly relevant and applicable to the women’s daily, hands-on classroom work experience.  

Ridgley said the college is pursuing more grant-funded opportunities going forward. 

“We have applied and been approved to offer two new apprenticeship programs,” said the Murray, Kentucky native about opportunities approved through the Tennessee Department of Education. “We … hope to have funding sources identified and course offerings in place by fall 2024.”

The college has also partnered with the state and other organizations on two other initiatives, the Tennessee Teach Back Initiative and Project RAISE, to fund students’ education in exchange for their commitment to teaching or working as mental health professionals in high-needs, rural districts across the state. 

To learn more about all the opportunities available at the College of Education, visit its website at https://www.mtsu.edu/education/ or Facebook page. 

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)