A grant of more than $2.3 million will help a local university increase the numbers of West Virginia students training to become science, technology, engineering and math teachers and help them stay in the state.

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Related Agencies (CJS), announced the grant Monday from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to Concord University to serve the national need of increasing and retaining STEM teachers.

“In order for the United States to have a next generation workforce, we must invest in students early,” Capito said. “I was proud to secure this grant for Concord University to help create a pipeline of new teachers for our rural schools and I am even prouder that they will be learning right here in West Virginia. This project will help rural students get a high-quality education at a young age that will help prepare them for STEM jobs in the future.”

The award is a $2,317,725 NSF grant to Concord University for a project titled “Utilizing Wrap Around Mentorship and Virtual Reality to Prepare and Sustain STEM Teachers in Rural High-Need Schools.”

The proposed project will provide insight into the successful recruitment, preparation and retention of STEM professionals who have chosen to pursue a career in STEM education.

Through this funding, Concord will deliver an online Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) curriculum, implement a comprehensive wrap around mentorship program utilizing a virtual platform to connect a multidisciplinary team of mentors with the Teaching Fellows (TFs), develop and maintain a Professional Learning Community (PLC), and incorporate the use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology within the MAT curriculum.

Furthermore, the university will utilize the virtual platform as well as data management software for ongoing mentoring and tracking of Teaching Fellows as they fill STEM teaching positions in rural high-need P-12 schools.

“We are using the funds to support fellows,” said Andrea Campbell, chair of the university’s department of education.

The plan is to have 16 fellows in the program beginning with the Spring 2025 term. They will be able to complete the university’s Master of Arts in Teaching program in 12 months, Campbell said. Then if they will remain in West Virginia and teach in the field for which they receive certification for four years, the program will be able to provide them an annual stipend of $15,000 for their first four years after completing the program; a total of $60,000 on top of their salaries.

“Their undergraduate degrees would need to be in a STEM field: biology, chemistry or mathematics,” Campbell said.

Campbell said 100% of the tuition would be covered through the fellowship. Fellows also receive a technology package for themselves and their future classrooms, national conference attendance and mentorship from experienced educators.

People interested in applying for the program can contact Campbell at 304-384-5362.

“We are wide open accepting applications at this time,” she said. “They could contact me as a starting point.”