KETTLE FALLS, Wash. — Whitworth University plans to use the largest-ever grant in school history to help rural communities in need.
Officials from the university said rural communities across the Inland Northwest are struggling to find and fill accredited school counselor positions.
Using the Department of Education's $3.37 million grant to help with scholarships and mileage reimbursement, officials say now, Whitworth can bridge the gap for students who want the education to fill those counselor positions, but live farther away from the college.
"It’s going to enable us to recruit students that wouldn’t normally be able to come to our campus and experience our school counseling program,” Dr. Renee' Schoening from Whitworth University said.
Paula Gormon is a school counselor at Kettle Falls High School. Two days a week, she drives two hours to Whitworth to take night classes to finish her three-year school counseling program.
“It’s really hard on all the other staff," Gormon said. "Teachers are taking on roles that they are not trained in or do not understand the process.”
Like Gormon, Whitworth said they want to make it easier for students from rural areas to get the required education they need.
“Get students who are already in love with and committed to their communities, and they just lack the training,” Schoening said.
This will allow districts to hire counselors who already know and love the town and the people that they are working with.
“I think it's so important to be able to hire people within, and then be able to come back and to fit in and understand how small communities work,” Gormon said.
This fall, Whitworth said they expect 12 students to benefit from the grant, and they are looking to grow that number each year for the next five years.
So far, the university has partnered with the Cheney, Mead, East Valley, West Valley and Central Valley School Districts, along with ESD 101, 123 and 171.