Culver-Stockton College (C-SC), a private liberal arts college offering 80 major and minor tracks, has announced the college received a $70,000 award from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The Developing an Educator Workforce that Expands Yearly (DEWEY) Award is given to higher learning institutions that are working to increase the number of teacher candidates and strengthen retention in teacher preparation programs. The DEWEY awards provide $70,000 grants to 15 education preparation programs and $45,000 to five two-year higher learning education programs annually. Those who receive the one-year grants move through a competitive selection process based on a detailed proposal that meets the required criteria.
Recognizing the opportunity with the DEWEY funding for C-SC’s education candidate recruiting and retaining efforts, Dr. Cindy Whiston, associate professor of education, outlined a plan for the use of the funding for education majors during the 2023-24 academic year. Part of the focus will include scholarships that assist with items such as textbooks, course expenses, mileage, meals, tutoring, and certification expenses.
“It is extremely important to support our students who may experience financial shortfalls as they try to complete their degrees because these are the individuals with a passion for education who are working hard to achieve their goals,” Whiston wrote in the proposal application.
The funding will also be used to enhance social media recruitment campaigns as well as recreational activities, service events, and professional development for students in the education program. C-SC will use part of the funding to host a mini-conference in the spring to connect professional mentors with students, especially those in underrepresented populations, including male students and students of color.
“As a result of our efforts to support underrepresented populations in the past four years, we have seen our numbers of male elementary education candidates nearly double, and we would like to see that trend continue,” Whiston wrote.
Through the support of previous grant funding, C-SC has increased recruitment and retention efforts of education majors. The education program at the college saw an increased retention rate. Retention was 85% from the 2023 spring semester to the fall semester of that year.
Undergraduate enrollment also increased in that time, according to Whiston. She noted a 20% enrollment increase between the 2022 and the 2023 fall semesters. The program grew from 43 new students in the fall of 2022 to 52 new students in the education program in the fall of 2023. The previous grant funding also helped the college increase enrollment in the Master of Education program, up 37% from 2022 to 2023.
“Our goal is to assist in ending the critical teacher shortage within a 60-mile radius of our college by supporting those educators,” Whiston wrote.
Contact the Marketing & Public Relations Office, at pr@culver.edu or 573-288-6000 ext. 6728 for more information.
NOTE: A number that appears immediately after a person’s name (i.e. Jane Doe ’18) is a reference to the year that person earned their bachelor’s degree from Culver-Stockton.