CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state has selected 24 new scholars under the Underwood-Smith Teaching Scholars Program who have committed to teaching in West Virginia for the next five years.
About 155 high school seniors applied for the program this year.
The scholarship provides up to $10,000 per year — or $40,000 total — for about 25 new scholars each year from a national applicant pool.
A student will be granted the award money as long as they’re willing to teach in West Virginia for five years after graduating from a four-year college or university.
State Higher Education Policy Commission Chancellor Dr. Sarah Armstrong Tucker said the program is meant to incentivize young people to pursue careers in education in an effort to help address West Virginia’s teacher shortage.
“I think it has the potential to make a significant difference. Yes, it’s around 25 students per cohort, but in just five years, that’s 125 students in high-need areas that are committed to staying in West Virginia,” Tucker said on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
This is the fifth year for the program. The first cohort graduated in May and will be entering the classroom this fall.
A student needs to have at least a 3.25 high school GPA, complete core courses and take the ACT or SAT exam in order to qualify for the scholarship.
Winners are paired with a classroom teacher mentor, who provides guidance throughout their college careers.
“These students are getting mentorships from teachers in their counties. They’re going on to get their bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees and we need to support them,” Tucker said.
Tucker said the program has been in the works for years, but most recently received enough state funding to move things along.
“We were trying to figure out what we could do with our programs that help teachers to try to encourage more high school students to go into the teaching profession. The Legislature and the governor’s office allowed us to revamp this scholarship program to become what it is now,” she said.
This scholarship program is named in honor of West Virginia Governors Cecil H. Underwood and Hulett C. Smith, both of whom were strong advocates for the state’s teachers and students.