GLENVILLE, WV – Last year, Glenville State launched a scholarship program to address the growing teacher shortage in West Virginia. That program, the Home Grown Initiative, focused on prospective teacher identification in the county schools partnered with scholarship support for candidate attendance at GSC, practical experiences, and mentoring during teacher preparation into the start of full-time teaching. The goal is for those students to return to their home counties to student teach and, if available, be able to apply for open positions in their home district.

With discussion and input from county superintendents, the program is now being expanded to all 55 counties in West Virginia. Superintendents identify what is a “high need” teaching position for their district and notifies GSC. Qualified students are then nominated by the superintendent or their designee for a scholarship in that teaching area.

To be eligible for the Home Grown Initiative scholarship program, students must be a newly enrolled, first year student at GSC and be from any county in the state. They must enroll in the Bachelor of Arts in Education degree major that their superintendent has identified as “high need,” have a minimum 3.0 GPA and minimum average ACT composite score of 20 or SAT composite score of 1020, obtain recommendation from the school superintendent or designee, and be willing to complete their student teaching back in their home county if possible. The annual $3,000 scholarship is renewable based on certain criteria.

The scholarship is competitive with only 35 students to be accepted for the upcoming academic year. Application deadlines are being relaxed this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, although applications should still be submitted as soon as possible.

“Students who have already been accepted into the Homegrown Initiative as part of last year’s class are receiving strong academic support with regular meetings to discuss their academic success. The students are also performing community service hours back in their home district each semester,” said Dr. Jeff Hunter, Dean of Education at Glenville State. “To successfully address the shortage of teachers in our state, we need to identify the people who want to make a difference at home and support them through their program to return home!” he added.

For more information on the Home Grown Initiative at GSC, contact the Office of Admissions at (800) 924-2010 or the Department of Education at (304) 462-4119.