• 2025 Razorbug Diploma Tour •

Online Education Provides On-Ramp for Cabot Woman to Become a Teacher

Four years ago, when April Rummel of Cabot turned 40, she gave herself the gift of a fresh start.

Rummel decided to follow her dream of becoming a teacher. She had been working as a paraprofessional in the Cabot School District. Paraprofessionals support licensed teachers in the classroom.

“I was starting my life over and wanted to go back to school, go after my dream,” she said. “I have wanted to be a teacher all my life. It really is a calling God puts on your heart.”

To act on her lifelong ambition, Rummel first attended Arkansas State University in Beebe. Online education provided a path for the next part of her journey. She transferred to the Bachelor of Education in Educational Studies for Paraprofessionals delivered online by the University of Arkansas.

With her determination and the support of her family, Rummel is now enrolled in graduate school at the U of A, pursuing a Master of Education in Special Education, also delivered online. Both are offered by the College of Education and Health Professions.

Rummel accepted a framed diploma this summer during the Razorbug Diploma Tour, which spotlighted successful online students.

 

Flexibility is Key

The flexibility of online education fit her needs as a single mother of two teenagers.

“I would get home from work and study at night and on the weekends,” Rummel said. “My kids would help me if they knew I had a test or something.”

Being in the comfort of her own home helped her be successful, she said.

“The main place I studied was on my couch, and I was comfortable,” Rummel said. “I was able to really focus and get all my work done. It is hard, especially if you have a full-time job and you’re single and you have children, but it is absolutely doable. If it wasn’t for being online, there’s no way I would have been able to achieve my dream as a teacher.”

 

Emotional Experience

She wanted to attend the University of Arkansas as a tribute to her brother, who died several years ago. They have the same last name, which will now appear on Senior Walk, a tradition in which every graduate’s name is etched onto a sidewalk on the Fayetteville campus.

“He was the biggest Razorback fan I know and when I saw that the U of A had this online program, I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ Now, my name will forever be associated with the Arkansas Razorbacks.”

On a Facebook post a week before commencement in May, Rummel posted her feelings.

“Every time I think about it, I get teary eyed,” she wrote. “I cannot believe that I made it this far. When I look back to where I was in my life when I started this journey and where I am today, it’s night and day. I cannot tell you how proud I am of myself.”

 

Razorbug Diploma Tour

The little red Volkswagen Beetle – a converted 2019 model with curly tail, razor spine, hooves, snout and tusks – was the backdrop on June 25 when Rhett Hutchins, teaching associate professor of educational studies, presented Rummel’s framed diploma. Rummel’s colleagues at Cabot Junior High North, including other paraprofessionals and Principal Matt Sheets, joined her for the occasion in front of the school, along with family and friends. Her fiancé, Justin Whorton, was also there to support her. The couple plans to marry next spring.

Later in the summer, the Cabot School District hired Rummel as a special education teacher at the district’s Freshman Academy. The district obtained a waiver for the hire with Rummel on schedule to take the Praxis exam in October. Passing the Praxis is required for teacher licensure and will allow Rummel to apply for a provisional license once she has 6 hours of graduate credit under her belt.

Hutchins coordinates the educational studies program. The educational studies bachelor’s degree does not include initial teacher licensure. It is designed to give paraprofessionals in Arkansas a path toward completing a bachelor’s degree, which is a necessary requirement to earn licensure from the Arkansas Department of Education. It differs from degrees that include initial licensure by taking a broader approach to education in all aspects of teaching and learning in community, nonprofit and private environments. The educational studies program for paraprofessionals provides working paraprofessionals continued employment experience toward their degree in lieu of internship placement requirements.

Three other paraprofessionals in her district enrolled in the degree program after hearing Rummel recommend it.

A second option, for mixed educational environments, focuses on the skills and knowledge needed for careers in education in environments outside the public school classroom. While the other option, which Rummel completed, is open only to paraprofessionals in Arkansas, the one for mixed educational environments is open to students in all states.