Given that over 5 million K-12 students in the U.S. public school system are classified as English learners (NCES, 2017), many policymakers and school leaders recognize that public schools need ethnically and linguistically diverse educators. But about 80% of teaching staff are white (Williams, Garcia, Connally, Cook, & Dancy, 2016), and only 13% speak another language in addition to English. To bridge this gap, some school districts have turned to bilingual paraeducators (sometimes called paraprofessionals or teacher aides) to support students' learning -- and to cultivate the next wave of licensed teachers. In 2012, the Northern Nevada English Learning Initiative, a consortium of education entities in and around Washoe County, Nevada, received a grant from the federal Office of English Language Acquisition to develop and implement professional learning for paraeducators to work effectively with English learners. Through this initiative, local school district staff and university faculty collaborated to develop a program to boost paraeducators' teaching skills. Specifically, paraeducators participating in the initiative learned about second language acquisition, inquiry-based science, and other district programs and priorities, including the Common Core State Standards, specific assessment tools, Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports, and social and emotional learning.