By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Education has launched a new program aimed at helping develop the next generation of teachers.
Thanks to $40,000 in funds from the Missouri Department of Education, Northwest launched the teacher recruitment and retention program.
Dean of the School of Education Tim Wall says the big idea behind the grant is understanding how difficult it is for some to get through a teacher education program financially.
"So, what we wanted to do was put financial support into the hands of prospective teachers in addition to pairing them up with high quality mentors from local schools and a university mentor," Wall tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post.
Wall says the program launched with eight students from underrepresented areas of education.
"Those can include first generation students, students from rural backgrounds, and then folks from diverse populations," Wall explains.
Each student selected received a $3,000 scholarship for the 2022-23 school year.
Wall says eight students were selected for the first-time program. But how did those students qualify for selection?
"We looked for people that qualified for the grant program by virtue of being a first-generation student from a rural community or a person who is from a diverse background or any of those characteristics," Wall says. "And we have eight students this time around, we're actively seeking funding to continue the program but haven't secured that yet."
Wall says without knowing what funding the program could get he's unsure how far it could go, but that he does have dreams of continuing to expand the number of students it helps.
Wall says the program will help with the financial cost's students go through, and goes on to say anything he can do to help students afford school, he will do
"We believe that that would encourage people to stay in the field, because they won't have as much student loan debt which can make it difficult for those who teach and have a family and children," Wall says. "I mean it's difficult right now, Missouri's teacher salaries are, last I've seen, 49th or 50th in the nation."