Ohio education departments, colleges addressing educator shortages
Ashley Morales wants a career where she can inspire students.
The 2019 Lake High School graduate hopes she can do it as an elementary art teacher. Or maybe even as a math or science teacher.
But Morales, who will be one of the 17 students to graduate in May from Stark State College with an associate degree in education, knows that the rising cost to attend a four-year university could be a problem.
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She already works two jobs — during the day at All About Kids in Jackson Township and in the evening at Handle’s Homemade Ice Cream in North Canton — to help pay for her college classes, even after receiving financial help from Stark State.
“I would love to continue my education,” said Morales, who speaks Spanish and English, “and I’m going to try anything I can (to go) even if the cost is through the roof. I would love to get my four years and become an actual teacher in a school.”
A new state grant intended to address a shortage of Ohio educators could help students like Morales.
Seeking to fill the educator pipeline
The Ohio Department of Higher Education and the Ohio Department of Education have awarded $5.2 million in grant money to 29 Ohio colleges and universities as part of a statewide effort to address a shortage of educators in Ohio and a shortage of students in the pipeline seeking careers in education.
The grants, which expire in September 2024, are intended to fund efforts that will help more students enter the education workforce within one or two years.
How Walsh, Malone plan to use their grants
Walsh University, which received $150,000, plans to use nearly all of its funding to give scholarships to education students graduating from two-year colleges, such as Stark State and Cuyahoga Community College. Walsh’s education program has an enrollment of 122 students.
Eugenia Johnson-Whitt, assistant professor of education at Walsh, said the scholarship students would enroll in a four-semester program that starts with an intensive summer session. By the end, the students would have enough credits to complete a bachelor’s degree while acquiring at least two teaching licenses, with one of them certifying them to work with students with special needs.
She said the dual licensure will prepare students to support high-need students within underserved districts, a key focus area for state officials.
Malone University, which received $160,000, also plans to designate a significant portion of its grant toward scholarships that will help students graduating from a two-year college to obtain their bachelor’s degrees. But that’s not all.
Jennifer Webb, chair of Malone’s education department, also plans to recruit at least three Malone students who are close to obtaining their clinical counseling degrees and who might be interested in adding on an education counseling license so they could serve as a counselor in a school district setting.
She also plans to contact the roughly 30 students who started at Malone in the past six years but stopped short of finishing their education degrees. She said their reasons for not seeking a license could range from failing their first attempt at a licensure exam and not being able to afford the subsequent exams or life changes that prevented them from seeking a license at that time.
Malone also has set aside money to help current school employees who are serving as paraprofessionals get the additional education courses they need to become a teacher.
Webb plans to work with Andrea Ramsey, Malone’s director of multicultural services who was a longtime administrator for Canton City Schools, to identify potential candidates in Stark County’s largest and most diverse school system.
Malone’s education program currently has an enrollment of 120 students.
Which other colleges and universities got a grant?
Other Northeast Ohio colleges and universities that received a grant to address educator shortages include:
- Baldwin Wallace University: $160,000
- Cleveland State University: $125,000
- John Carroll University: $150,000
- Kent State University: $200,000
- Lake Erie College: $160,000
- Notre Dame College: $120,000
- University of Akron: $144,700
- Ursuline College: $150,000
- Youngstown State University: $200,000
Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or [email protected].
On Twitter: @kweirREP
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