The West Virginia Regional Hub is housed in the Center for Education Research and Practice in Appalachia (CERPA), a new research-practice partnership center in West Virginia University's School of Education and Counseling. The Center works alongside PK-12 educators, district leaders, and policymakers to understand shared problems of practice and improve on them together.
Rural teacher recruitment and retention is a central focus of their work. A statewide survey of West Virginia teachers on job satisfaction, professional support, and career intentions will soon be released as a visual dashboard that connects teachers' perspectives with contextual data to inform policy and practice. WVU's educator preparation programs are also working on access and affordability. The "Take Me Home" program lets teacher candidates complete their final clinical year in their home communities, and new pathways are being developed to support paraprofessionals already in classrooms as they earn degrees and certification.
Because WVU delivers these programs and have the capacity to study their impact through partnerships with stakeholders, they can learn quickly what works for rural communities. As an Exploring member of the Rural Teacher Corps, WVU are eager to learn from partners doing similar work and to share what they are learning in West Virginia.
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