WVE: Tell us about the Underwood-Smith Teacher
Scholarship Program that was revised this year to
help recruit students into teaching programs.
SAT: That is a scholarship and loan forgiveness program for
teachers. We kept the loan forgiveness part of it as it has always
existed, and for the scholarship portion, this fall we provided a
cohort of 25 college freshmen with scholarships to go to college
if they go into high-need teacher education fields. Specifically,
we are probably looking at math and science right now, but
that could be opened up to include other fields. We are going to
take that cohort and give them $10,000 scholarships every year
they are in college for a total of $40,000. That is in addition
to any other money they may receive. We are going to mentor
them throughout their four years. They have to work in the
field and become a teacher in their subject content area in
West Virginia for five years after they graduate. We want to
heighten the profession of teaching. We want our teachers to
know how important we think they are and how important
we think the work they are doing is. This is the beginning of
making that happen.
WVE: In terms of the social, economic and emotional
impacts, are your college professors experiencing
the same challenges as K-12 teachers?
SAT: Yes, it is exactly the same. They are having to do a lot
more things than they use to have to do—things they are not
trained to do. Part of us hiring a new behavioral health director
is trying to help the institutions wrap their heads around these
new students and how to handle them and make sure we are
meeting them where they are. It is a significant challenge on our
campuses, and we are trying to acknowledge that and help them
figure out how best to work with the population they have.
WVE: How did we get to where we are with the
problem of high school graduates not going on to
postsecondary education?
SAT: Historically, our state has had a lot of opportunities
for families to be very successful working in jobs that didn’t
require higher education. That has changed, and we haven’t
kept up with that change. It is going to continue to change,
and that means people are going to need additional certifica-
tions and trainings. It’s a real challenge, but it is one we can
overcome. We are going to have to have a cultural shift in
our in state with our people about the type of education and
training they need.
WVE: How do you ensure you are up to date on the
needs of the business community so you know you
are offering the right programs?
SAT: We get the information from a lot of different places.
The four-year institutions have a myriad of ways they reach out
to business and industry and try to make sure they are offering
the programs that are needed. I also work very closely with
the West Virginia Department of Commerce. I am frequently
in meetings when companies are considering coming to West
Virginia. I am in this sort of constant feedback loop. It is a
line of communication that I work very hard at keeping open.
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