School of Education celebrates record enrollment
William Carey University hosted a brunch Sept. 24 to celebrate the School of Education’s extraordinary enrollment growth – and to thank the people who made it possible.
Dr. Teresa Poole, dean of the WCU School of Education, congratulated faculty and staff from the Hattiesburg and Tradition campuses.
“Today we’re celebrating a record enrollment increase. This is important, because we are recruiting teachers and that’s our ministry, that’s our passion, that’s our goal – to ensure that we are recruiting effective teachers for our classrooms in the state of Mississippi,” Poole said.
“While we know there is a national shortage of teachers, this enrollment growth is encouraging to us. It’s a true reflection of our partnerships with school districts across the state. Today we’re celebrating because we are seeing a change. And with the recent release of the Governor's Education Human Capital Task Force report, we are truly encouraged to know our education stakeholders are working collaboratively to end the teacher shortage.”
In the fall 2021 trimester, WCU posted an overall 2 percent enrollment increase over last year. But the School of Education’s overall enrollment rose 6 percent, from 1,705 students to 1,806 students – and the number of undergraduate education majors grew by 13 percent, from 358 students to 405 students.
The brunch included a videotaped message of thanks and congratulations from Mississippi Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann.
Also attending the celebration were: Associate Superintendent Dr. Marla Davis of the Mississippi Department of Education; keynote speaker Leta Palmiter, a WCU alumna and executive director of Illuminations Center for Dyslexia in Meridian; State Rep. Kent McCarty of the Mississippi House of Representatives, who authored a bill in support of loan forgiveness for teacher education graduates; and Ward 1 Councilman Jeffrey George of the Hattiesburg City Council.
