The Shadow
LOW MOOR, Va. (VR) – The Alleghany Highlands Public Schools Division has been awarded state grant funding to help retain teachers and pay for provisionally licensed teachers’ coursework needed to earn a Virginia K-12 teaching license.
The $30,000 Recruitment and Retention Support Grant from the Virginia Department of Education will assist the school division’s efforts to retain existing staff who work in critical need areas. The grant will also provide tuition assistance to teachers who are in need of further coursework to obtain licensure and other endorsements.
“We are very pleased to have opportunities to encourage our teachers and those who may wish to become teachers. Teachers have a vital role in the success of our young people and of our full community,” said Kim Halterman and Melinda Snead-Johnson, leaders of AHPS.
School divisions throughout Virginia continue to struggle with teacher shortages, and AHPS, based on research by the University of Virginia, is listed among the 20 most hard-to-staff school divisions in the state. AHPS has difficulty attracting teachers due to its rural nature and geographic location.
Grants, such as the RARS Grant, require AHPS to use funds to target specific teacher needs in the community. That means that not all grants can’t support all teachers employed by AHPS. However, the school board strives to meet the needs of all employees through compensation and benefits.
“We firmly believe that all of our employees are encouraged by compensation and other benefits. That said, we want to seize upon opportunities that are presented to support any group of our staff,” said Halterman and Snead-Johnson.
A portion of the RARS Grant from the state will help the school division retain secondary (middle school and high school) science teachers which are in short supply across the state, according to the Virginia Department of Education. In the coming academic year, AHPS plans to use approximately $10,000 total from the RARS Grant to award bonuses to its secondary (middle school and high school) science teachers.
The remainder of the RARS Grant, $20,000, will be earmarked to provide teachers with continuing education support, particularly in the areas of elementary education, special education, middle school education and career-technical education.
The funds will assist provisionally-licensed teachers to meet the requirements for full licensure. Provisional licenses are short-term, nonrenewable licenses granted by the Virginia Department of Education for teachers who haven’t met all of the state requirements to be fully endorsed in a particular teaching area. For instance, VDOE grants provisional licensure to persons who have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university but didn’t take certain education courses that meet the state’s requirements for a standard teacher’s license.
School divisions across Virginia are using provisionally-licensed teachers to address personnel shortages. A recent study by the Virginia Legislative Audit Review Committee found that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, roughly 7.7% of all teachers in the state were provisionally licensed. In 2021-2022, that number had grown to 9.5%.
In addition, the grant may be used to provide long-term substitutes and other prospective teachers working for AHPS with tuition assistance. Under the terms of the grant, no individual can be awarded more than $3,000 in tuition support. Details concerning how to access grant funds will be available to AHPS employees in the summer of 2023.
“Our staff leaves no stone unturned when it comes to bringing grants and new money to our school system, which in turn brings much-needed money to our local economy and better opportunities for our students. I applaud them for all of their hard work and creativity in trying to retain the valuable teachers that are part of the AHPS team, and fill open positions,” said Jacob Wright, chair of the Alleghany Highlands Public Schools Board.
The Alleghany Highlands Public Schools Division was formed through the July 1, 2022, merger of Alleghany County Public Schools, Covington City Public Schools and Jackson River Technical Center. The school division serves approximately 2,700 students, and it is jointly funded by Alleghany County and the city of Covington.
As part of the merger agreement, AHPS schools will fully consolidate in the fall. Covington High School will become Covington Middle School and serve students in grades 6-8. Alleghany High School will serve as the joint high school and house grades 9-12.
AHPS news and events are regularly updated on Facebook at AHPublicSchools. The division website is www.ahps.k12.va.us.
