She’s Going to Be a Teacher

It turns out that Holly Sloan (St. Paul-Onalaska WI) is a perfect fit for MLC’s Competency-Based Education (CBE) program. She has a college degree, but it’s not in education. She’s already serving in a WELS school and would love to get her education degree, but she can’t uproot her whole family and move them to New Ulm.

It’s for people like Holly that we’re developing our CBE program. We asked her to share her story with us.

Holly, what’s your background? Where did you go to school?
I grew up in Northern Wisconsin and attended public elementary and high school. After high school, I attended UW-Superior and earned a double major in biology and chemistry. Interestingly, I began my college career as an elementary education major.

It’s amazing that you were interested in education even back then! How did you use your science degrees?
After I graduated, I worked in microbiology and food safety for several years until my first child was born. I then took on the role of stay-at-home mom for eight incredible years. During that time, my husband and I welcomed our second child.

When you went back to work, you didn’t go back to microbiology, but turned toward education. Why was that?
Returning to work after being out of the workforce for eight years was daunting. When my youngest went to kindergarten, I saw that our school—St. Paul’s in Onalaska—was looking for an educational assistant (EA) in the second-grade classroom, and I jumped at the chance. I had spent a lot of time volunteering at school, already knew the staff, and was looking forward to having the same schedule as my children.

And then you decided that maybe you could do more. You could be a teacher.
Right. It wasn’t even halfway through the year when the classroom teacher asked me if I’d ever considered becoming a teacher. The answer was yes, I had. She encouraged me to look into it. At that time, with two small children, it didn’t seem like a realistic goal. In my five years as an EA, I worked with five excellent teachers, many of whom tried their best to encourage me to get my teaching degree. In my final year as an EA, due to class sizes, I was only scheduled for half days. It was the perfect time to look into getting my teaching degree.

That’s when you reached out to Dr. LaGrow at MLC.
Yes, when I reached out to MLC, Dr. Nichole LaGrow told me about the new competency-based programs, specifically the Competency-Based Theology Education (CBTE) and the Alternative Pathway to Professional Licensure Eligibility (APPLE) programs that were about to begin. She helped me identify courses I could take before the program started to prepare myself and minimize the credits I would need to complete at MLC. Most of my general education courses would transfer from UW-Superior. I needed to complete four more before beginning my CBTE coursework: three at Western Technical College in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and one online at the University of North Dakota. I spent the year working at school in the morning, taking classes in the afternoon, and serving as a substitute teacher.

As you started taking these courses, God brought you a surprising opportunity. What happened?
Last spring, our school decided to adopt a departmentalized model for our grade 5-8 students starting in the fall of 2024. With that change, they needed someone to fill the gap and teach grade 5-6 writing and grammar. When my principal asked me if I would be willing to teach part-time, I was shocked. I was not expecting to have such an opportunity. After many prayers, some long conversations, and the full support of my family, I decided to accept the call. I was excited to have the opportunity to teach but knew it would be a complete life change. Simultaneously beginning a new program through MLC and taking on a new teaching role would be challenging.

That brings us to today. You’re busy finishing the CBTE courses—the theology component of this process—even as you teach fifth- and sixth-grade writing and grammar at St. Paul’s. How does that work?
I have three classes, and I teach four mornings per week. Being able to teach has been such an exciting opportunity and keeps me busy. When I’m not teaching, I’m working on homework of my own. I am finishing up Biblical History and Literature I and Christian Doctrine I through MLC. These classes have allowed me to deepen my understanding of the Scriptures and think critically about what I believe.

Sometimes people think that CBE is a shortcut to the teaching ministry, but it’s not really. It’s an alternate pathway to the ministry that is still quite rigorous. Are you finding it to be a lot of work?
Carving out time to work on schoolwork has required intentional scheduling and a lot of late nights and weekend study sessions. At the beginning of the semester, we were told that for a 3-credit course, we should expect to dedicate at least 6 hours per week to coursework. I would say that this is accurate.

Do you feel supported as you make it work?
Yes! The professors are very flexible and understanding. And I’m also blessed with many people who encourage and help me. It’s a team effort. I could not do this without the flexibility of my family, the encouragement of my fellow staff members, or the support of my congregation.

What’s next?
 I’ll take another two theology courses during the spring semester and the final two over the summer. I will complete my theology minor at the end of this summer. Then I’ll start the APPLE courses—the pedagogy courses—next fall. I’m looking forward to applying what I’m learning in my courses to my daily teaching practice.

What are you most excited about?
 I didn’t attend a Lutheran elementary or high school as a child. The experience of working in a WELS elementary school and having my children attend one has shown me what an extraordinary gift it is for children to be immersed in God’s Word each day and to learn through the lens of faith. I had always thought about becoming a teacher, and now I have the opportunity through the CBTE and APPLE programs. Considering the current teacher shortage, I had to ask myself: Why not me? Why not now?