In this first half of our two-part series with Craft Education's  head of Instructional Innovation and Apprenticeship Design, Kim Eckert, we learn why teacher apprenticeships are vitally important to the future of teacher education. As part of that importance, we also hear how community colleges are ideally positioned to lead this work that endeavors to break down the financial barriers that traditional student teaching often brings to teacher candidates who may already have families. Additionally, teacher apprenticeships keep paraprofessionals who are already community members within the schools and communities they already serve.