WOOD RIVER, Neb. — Schools across the country have experienced challenges in filling teaching positions, but Wood River Rural Schools is doing something about it.
The Grow Our Own — Wood River Teacher Cadet Program aims to encourage students to pursue careers in education and return to Wood River to teach.
Superintendent Terry Zessin said counselor Tori Strode and art teacher Jennifer Pietrzak have organized and facilitated the program and recruited the students. He compared it to the Rural Health Opportunities Program (RHOP), in which students receive scholarships to study health care and return to rural areas to practice.
“When we grow our own, teachers are more apt to stay because they have family and are from the area,” he said. “Ten percent of our teaching staff have graduated from Wood River and have stayed anywhere from two to 30 years. We haven’t had any Wood River graduate teachers leave in the last 15 years.”
Like all schools, however, Wood River is feeling the pinch of the teacher shortage.
“There is beginning to be a need in every area,” Zessin said, “but math, science, English, ag, music, industrial tech and special education are the major needs.”
The Grow Our Own program will use a variety of ways to encourage students who are interested in careers in education.
They’ll have opportunities to observe teachers at work. The students will also participate in small group discussions and journaling and will have the chance to enroll in education courses through the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Central Community College.
Those who complete the program’s criteria will be able to apply for a total of 11 scholarships to be awarded in the spring of 2023 and 2024. The $1,000 scholarships will be renewable for four years for a total of $4,000.
The scholarships are funded by the Nebraska Department of Education Educator Pipeline Grant.
Students who receive the scholarships will make a commitment to apply at Wood River Rural Schools when they complete their college education.
“Success for us is getting students interested in the teaching profession,” Zessin said. “If we can send two to five students to major in education a year, that’s a win for Wood River Rural Schools, education and the teaching field in general.”
For more information about the Grow Our Own — Wood River Teacher Cadet Program, contact Superintendent Terry Zessin at 308-583-2249 or tzessin@wrrsd.org.
— Wood River Rural Schools