Western Kentucky University receives grant from US Department of Education for Project CARE

Western Kentucky University has received a US Department of Education grant totalling $2 million for Project CARE (Collaborative Apprenticeships for Rural Educators) that will be used over four years to provide enhanced opportunities for rural students as they pursue a career in education. The project will begin in the fall of 2024.

According to an article on Western Kentucky University’s website, Dr. Corinne Murphy, who serves as the Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, was quoted as saying of the grant award, “This federal award affords WKU the opportunity to continue its work to build a framework for educator apprenticeship in Kentucky. Living, learning, and working in the communities we serve will further establish impactful Grow Your Own opportunities helping to resolve the teacher shortage in our Commonwealth.”

Part of Project CARE is the establishment of a dual enrollment pathway in partnership with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System that gives high school students who want to become teachers the opportunity to earn college credits while still in high school. The program is called K-12 Teaching and Learning Early College Pathway, and involves students taking courses from both Western Kentucky University and the Kentucky Community and Technical College system, participating in clinical exercises, and receiving mentoring and networking opportunities. This program will allow students to receive up to 60 hours of college credit while still in high school, which will ultimately save them time and money as they pursue teaching. 

Additionally, Project CARE will provide for the establishment of the Registered Apprenticeship Program, which is a paid opportunity for future teachers. Students will enter the program upon graduating from high school, and then will have earned their bachelor degree within two years. These Registered Apprenticeship Program opportunities will be available in ten school districts within Kentucky.

Dr. Susan Keesey, who is the director and principal investigator of Project CARE, explained how beneficial the program will be in the pursuit of providing more opportunities for rural students on the path to teaching, saying, “This collaborative partnership between KCTCS, WKU, and high schools provides our district partners the opportunity to choose their future teachers. High school students wanting to be teachers learn through a high-quality accelerated program where they are paid for their work. This opens up opportunities for many more rural high school students to become teachers which is much needed during this critical teacher shortage.”

Dr. Marguerita DeSander, co-principal investigator of the project, echoed these sentiments, adding what she believes is a great benefit to the future of education: The Project CARE teacher apprenticeship model blends the best of both worlds for pre-service teacher candidates – gaining real world experience as a teacher while working with a master teacher and gaining valuable classroom experiences translating into course competencies. This model takes teacher preparation and experiential learning to a whole new level – it is a game-changer for developing competent, caring, and collaborative teaching professionals.”

For more information about Western Kentucky University, visit the school’s website.