COpilot | COpilot

April Leitshuh

April Leitshuh is a Social Studies teacher and Environmental Club sponsor who works with high school students to help them learn about how to think critically and apply the skills they learn in class to the world around them. April believes that fostering positive relationships with students is the most important thing about education. Once you have build a strong relationship, students and teachers working together can accomplish incredible things.

April started her career in New Orleans, where she and her students made huge gains in increasing their reading abilities. She then did the same in Montbello, Colorado at a DPS middle school. Currently she is working with freshman and seniors and guiding them to identify problems in their school and community with an emphasis on helping them implement strategies to solve the problems. April has trained teachers about incorporating more environmentally sound practices into their classrooms. She has also led professional development on how to make classrooms more inclusive of all students.

April holds a BS in History Education from Illinois State University, and a MA in Curriculum and Instruction in Social Studies from Concordia University-Portland.

Become a COpilot class facilitator!

Are you wondering what that little paper airplane on some facilitator photos means? Are you interested in teaching other teachers content and strategies that actually work? Do you want to be a leader in your Association? Would you like to make some extra money?

If you answered "Yes!" to any of these questions, then you should definitely consider becoming a COpilot class facilitator. The best part about facilitating classes to other educators on COpilot is learning with people from all over Colorado who are just like you. Every COpilot class gives you and other educators a chance to learn instructional and leadership strategies that truly make a difference in students' lives!

Facilitating classes on COpilot can definitely be intimidating, but the good news is that CEA supports you every step of the way. The process to become a facilitator, set up a class, and get to teaching is actually pretty easy. Just take a look at this short list:

Contact Casey Kilpatrick, the Director of Learning Services at the Colorado Education Association, and express your interest in facilitating a class.
Casey will arrange a time to meet with you via Zoom to discuss what you'd like to teach. We are always looking for new classes, so no topic is really out of bounds!
After the meeting, you'll need to fill out a syllabus so CEA can get the class approved for credit (we'll give you a template).
Once Casey receives the completed syllabus, he'll arrange another meeting to set up your class shell and walk you through the COpilot Learning Management System (LMS).
You'll then have the chance to build your class and get feedback from CEA about the process.
Once your class finishes, CEA will pay you for the number of students who completed your class (for more information about payment rates, please contact Casey Kilpatrick at CEA)

That's really all there is to it. CEA will take care of all the technical support, marketing, credit approval, evaluations, and other questions that come up. All you really need to do is work with amazing educators on a topic that fits your passions.

Now...what about that paper airplane?

Facilitators who earn that airplane means they are WINGS certified. All of those awesome Colorado educators have taken a rigorous, 30-hour, two graduate credit class all about online learning and facilitation. WINGS certified facilitators make more money per student who completes a class and have special recognition across the Association. To become a WINGS certified facilitator, you first must facilitate a class at the base level. You then need to complete the WINGS COpilot Proficiency Program that is offered every spring. Please contact Casey Kilpatrick at CEA for more information.