Rutherford County Schools (RCS) teachers and staff have pathways to personal and career advancement through a new collaboration agreement signed between district leaders and Western Governors University (WGU).
RCS is the fastest-growing and fourth-largest school district in Tennessee and employs 6,600 area residents. Through this partnership, employees have access to WGU’s competency-based bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, professional certificates and credentials. They are also eligible to apply for the $3,500 K-12 Partner Scholarship.
School districts across Tennessee have a critical need for educators and such partnerships are beneficial to recruitment efforts. With this signing, WGU has collaboration agreements in place with Tennessee’s four largest school districts: Memphis-Shelby County Schools, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Knox County Schools and Rutherford County Schools, which have a combined enrollment of approximately 300,000 students.
“The partnerships we have built with school systems make it easier for their employees to balance achieving a degree or credential while also working and balancing family demands,” said Kimberly K. Estep, regional vice president of WGU’s Southeast region. “As teachers and staff enhance their own knowledge, that will ultimately benefit all students in the school system as well.”
Janet Flannery, coordinator of new teacher programs and recruitment for Rutherford County Schools, echoed similar sentiments.
“Some of our best future teachers are already serving in our schools and we are excited to invest in them through partnerships like this,” Flannery said. “WGU will be a great addition to our support and growth of educators.”
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