Information from the West Virginia Department of Education and the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission was presented to the Senate Education Committee, 3 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22.
Following the approval of minutes, Michele Blatt, assistant superintendent of the West Virginia Department of Education addressed the committee to discuss the state’s education areas of critical need.
Blatt said that three different factors join together to make up the criteria for critical need with the shortage of non-fully certified teachers, especially in math, accounting for a majority of the issues. According to Blatt, a non-fully certified teacher describes a teacher who may have a certificate for education in a subject which is different than the one they are currently teaching.
Statewide, 33.3 percent of West Virginia’s math teachers are non-fully certified in the subject.
When asked about the amount of vacancies that are present within the state, Blatt said that of the 700 vacancies present within the state, most are simply situations where non-certified teachers are teaching a particular subject.
Blatt also addressed the committee to discuss the need for additional teachers within the state and said the board is hoping to initiate a program where college seniors majoring in education may be placed in a school for the whole year opposed to the 6-12 weeks of student teaching. She said that this will help teachers
Senior Director for Financial Aid at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, Brian Weingart, also came before the committee to discuss the Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholarship Program. The purpose of the program is to assist West Virginians interested in obtaining a teaching certificate and committed to the pursuit of a teaching career in West Virginia’s public schools.
The program is comprised of two components- a teacher scholarship and a teacher loan repayment. Both of which combine to create an appropriation total of $328,349.
Students who are applying for a scholarship through the program may receive $5,000 following a commitment to teach two years for each year they receive the award. Those who are applying for loan repayment may receive up to $15,000 towards student loan debt. $3,000 of which is awarded following the two completed years of teaching.
Overall, Weingart said that out of 300 applications, only 30 scholarships are awarded each year due to a lack of funding.
