Caitlin Ehlers never expected she would one day be on the path to becoming a teacher. If she were to tell her 10-year-old self that she is currently student-teaching in a fifth-grade classroom, Ehlers said, that kid would be horrified.
“I hated school. I really was not a fan,” she said. “But I did always love learning, and I like people — and I found that, at the intersection of having not liked school and really loving learning, I’m able to be a really good resource for kids for whom school is not a natural fit.”
Growing up, Ehlers’ dislike of school stemmed from a feeling that many of the rules were arbitrary. In middle school, she remembers brainstorming with a friend about how the school experience could be improved. She wanted block schedules and freedom of movement but most of all to just be treated with respect — like an adult.
It wasn’t until high school when she began taking community college courses that she realized what she had really wanted all along was college. Now, as a senior majoring in Educational Studies with an emphasis on Elementary Education at the University of Washington Bothell, she incorporates the things she loves most about college into her own teaching.
And as the president of the Student Washington Education Association, her passion for improving education extends well beyond her own teaching methods.
Following a curlicued path
Ehlers grew up in Michigan, where she completed an associate degree while in high school. She hoped to someday become an audio engineer, and she also had a passion for writing and LGBTQ+ activism. Unsure of exactly what she wanted to do, she set out to try new things.
“I knew I needed to be young and ridiculous for a little bit,” she said.
She moved to Oakland, California, where she picked up an interest in agriculture and gardening, and interned at urban farms. In 2016, she moved to the Seattle area and ran a small vegetable farm in Woodinville, Washington, for several years. She also worked as an after-school teacher at Kids’ Carpentry Seattle.
“While doing that job, I found that I really liked teaching and have a knack for it,” she said. “A parent of one of my students asked if I wanted to teach at a science program in Renton, and it got me thinking about what I wanted to do. It hadn’t occurred to me that I could actually be a classroom teacher. It was a very curlicue route to get where I am.”
So Ehlers went back to school in 2023. As a nontraditional student, she said she’s grateful for the time she spent finding herself and exploring different opportunities before continuing her education. At 19, she would have struggled to sit down and do homework, and to commit to her schooling. But now, she finds that her studies come quite naturally to her. She even has the capacity to take on extracurricular activities — such as organizing a campus student union for future educators.
Getting involved for others
An interest in teachers’ unions was part of what inspired Ehlers to want to teach. She recalls listening to a podcast about the Chicago Teachers Union and its efforts to prevent school closures after the 2008 recession. “Hearing about the amazing work they did,” she said, “I realized that being a teacher could put me in a place where I can do a lot of good, beyond the teaching itself, and benefit the communities I serve.”
When Ehlers came upon the Washington Education Association table at a conference and learned about SWEA, she immediately signed up. And as there was not a UW Bothell chapter for the association at the time, she got to work organizing one.
“I didn’t really have any guidance, but I was like, ‘Put me in coach,’” she said. “I want to help out.”
She started by speaking to others in her program to gather club officers. As a member of SWEA, she was excited by the opportunity to participate in real-world decision making. Student representatives are able to attend WEA events, vote for delegates and initiatives, and even put forward motions of their own.
When the previous SWEA president stepped down last year, Ehlers decided to run for the seat.
“My platform was about how our greatest strength is each other and how SWEA should be a place for students to practice grassroots democracy and to connect with and support our fellow student workers,” Ehlers said. “I wanted to organize to build power and win paid student teaching in the state of Washington.
“Student teaching is an unpaid job, and that’s a huge equity barrier.”
Fighting for a cause
The WEA recently made significant strides on this issue through its $1.5 million gift to UW Bothell, which provides stipends for student teachers. Student voices, including Ehlers’ advocacy as SWEA president, were instrumental in moving this initiative forward, the WEA noted.
“What I’m really pushing for is a universal stipend for student teachers,” Ehlers said. “Toward that end, I think these programs are really fantastic steps in the right direction, and I’m excited to see that work happening here.”
For other UW Bothell members of SWEA who follow Ehlers’ lead, the campus chapter has empowered them to fight for the cause as well.
“I first became involved with SWEA last winter quarter,” said Zoe Miller, a senior majoring in Educational Studies. “Caitlin was in my class, and she had just returned from a trip to the National Education Association caucus with an inspirational tale of fighting for paid student teaching.
“I’ve always had strong convictions and a desire to fight for justice,” she said, “and, as student teaching approached, I felt increasingly frustrated and panicked about my financial outlook. I was eager to find a productive outlet to address my anxieties about student teaching — and with an organizer like Caitlin, I felt confident that we could make a change.”
“What I’m really pushing for is a universal stipend for student teachers.”
Caitlin Ehlers, senior, Educational Studies
Inspiring others to act
While Ehlers plans to become a classroom teacher, she said that union organizing and educational advocacy will always be a part of her work, too. Bringing SWEA to the UW Bothell campus has been one of the most memorable experiences of her education, she said.
“You can do so much with just a few people. If you have even just three people, you are organized, and you can start from there,” she said. “You don’t have to wait to do the right thing. You can change a lot of things with a few people and a problem, and I encourage everyone to do that.”
As Ehlers prepares to graduate in the spring, she aims to grow the campus chapter so that her legacy will continue.
“Caitlin is absolutely the most vital member of SWEA,” said Ryan Forrester, a post-baccalaureate student in the Elementary Education Teacher Certification program. “Her background knowledge about organizing and the way unions function, her initiative in creating the club, and the effort and expertise she applies to our advocacy and all our other activities are the backbone of our group.
“Quite simply, UW Bothell SWEA would not exist without Caitlin.,” he said. “She’s an inspiration to me, and the world would be a much better place if we all fought as hard as she does for what we believe in.”
