Male teacher in front of students in class

Your Career Starts Here

As a teacher, you'll grow your creativity, collaboration and leadership every day. Where will teaching take you?

The places you’ll go

As an educator, you’ll have many paths to a fulfilling and meaningful career that highlights your strengths. Explore the paths you can take, and meet Connecticut teachers who have done it!

Classroom Leadership

Teachers lead by formally and informally influencing their school communities. If you love life in the classroom, you can grow your career without leaving it, and help improve and refine education for student success.

The life of a teacher leader

Ryan Parker quote

Ryan Parker is an eighth grade English teacher and district consultant in Manchester. He teaches teachers how to teach with a focus on culturally relevant pedagogy and restorative justice. 

Ryan's Path

School Leadership Roles

As an educator, you’ll have many opportunities to grow beyond your classroom responsibilities. Your professional path may expand into positions where you oversee everything from the budget to the performance of the entire teaching staff. Check out these school-level leadership gigs and what they entail.

The making of a school leader

Manuel Zaldivar Barahona

Read how Manuel Zaldivar Barahona from the Consolidated School District of New Britain grew his career—from elevator operator, to paraeducator, to teacher, to principal!

 

District Leadership

You can broaden your reach as a leader and make a lasting mark on the whole community. Work with a school board to be part of the policy and decision-making of your district, or grow into an academic leadership role that guides academic excellence across multiple schools.

Setting a vision for the district

Daisy Torres

After Daisy Torres became the first in her family to graduate college, she went on to teach in the community where she grew up. Now, she's the Director of English Learner Services, Dual & World Language Programs for Hartford Public Schools.

Policy, Advocacy and Academia

Further your commitment to education by sharing what you know with new audiences. Your career may naturally lead to a role where you are advocating for an issue, pursuing policy positions or moving into academic research.

Advocating for students nationwide

Miguel Cardona

Miguel Cardona began as a 4th grade teacher in his hometown of Meriden. From there, he became Connecticut's youngest principal, a district Superintendent, Commissioner of Education, and now the top education post —US Secretary of Education. 

Once a teacher, always a teacher!

Education Products and Services

The skills you learn as a teacher can prepare you to develop products and services for teachers and schools. Whether you balance multiple ventures while teaching or decide to apply your skill elsewhere, teaching will prepare you to excel. Consider these few paths as a sampling of possible opportunities.

Take your passion anywhere

Kelly Villar with a sled dog

Kelly Villar fell in love with the Iditarod sled dog race the moment she learned about it. After incorporating it into her lesson plans for almost 19 years, she applied to become the 2020 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail!™ 

Follow Kelly's journey from teacher to trail blogger and curriculum designer!

Teacher helping young student

Design a Roadmap

A career in education is anything but static. It’s filled with growth, options, and opportunities. Keep exploring and a get a personalized roadmap to think through next steps that fit your stage and

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