In an effort to address the growing teacher shortage in West Virginia, Glenville State College is doing its part to fill vacan-cies through a “Home Grown” approach.
According to GSC, the number of teacher vacancies in the Mountain State has risen dramati-cally, from more than 400 three years ago to 700 in 2017, increasing concerns about the long-term edu-cational and economic impact for families and the State.
Vacancies are particularly acute in special education, math, early education, and science.
“Glenville State College has a history of training teachers, going all the way back to 1872, and we are prepared to take a focused and intentional lead in encouraging enrollment in teacher programs,” said GSC president Dr. Tracy Pellett, “Particularly in the identified shortage areas,
“We know that address-ing this teacher shortage matches the vision of Gov. Justice and several other state lawmakers, and GSC agrees that the time is now.”
Through coordinated college and public school partnerships, GSC plans to address focused and joint teacher identification, financial and scholarship support for candidate attendance to college, and practical experiences and mentoring during teacher preparation and into the start of full-time teaching.
Students who are in-terested in enrolling in GSC’s education program and taking part in the “Home Grown” initiative can expect to take part in peer and professional mentoring, advising, inten-sive tutoring, real-world teaching experiences in their home county, and the opportunity to enhance their teaching knowledge and appreciation of teach-ing.
“Calhoun County is excited and proud to partner with Glenville State College for their Home Grown initiative. Calhoun County Schools feels that this partnership will benefit our students and community. The scholarships will allow our students to achieve a degree without student loans,” said superintendent Kelli Whytsell.
Annual competitive scholarships, ranging from $1,000 to $3,000, are also available for students in the “Home Grown” initiative. Other assorted foundation and community-based scholarships are also available to offset costs.
Students are reminded that any awards from the institution cannot exceed the full tuition and fees amount.
At present, students from 15 counties are eli-gible to participate in the “Home Grown” pro-gram.
For information about GSC’s initiative or to enroll, email admissions@glenville.edu or call 800-924-2010.
