West Virginia has 75 people per square mile for a total of 1.8 million people. Of that number, 15.6 percent- the third lowest in the nation- is children aged 5-17. Those 282,000 children attend school in West Virginia's 55 school districts. Enrollment from 2007 to 2008 increased by 0.1 percent, the same as the national average. Comparing number from 1998-99 to 2008-09 numbers, high school graduation rates dropped 10.9 percent.
During the 2008-09 school year, 19,798 teachers had their West Virginia teacher certifications. West Viriginia's student-teacher ratio is 14.2:1, compared to the national average of one teacher for every 15.2 students. The average salaries of teachers in West Virginia in 2008-2009 was $56,092, which was 82.3 percent of the national average salary $54,319. In West Virginia, salaries rose 5.1 percent between the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years, compared to a national increase of 2.9 percent.
West Virginia Teaching Certifications
West Virginia teaching certifications are separated into three categories: temporary, alternative, and permanent certificates. All certifications have general requirements U.S. citizenship and an undergraduate GPA of 2.5. The state will issue an initial professional certificate to someone who has a bachelor's degree through a regionally accredited school and has passed all state-required Praxis exams. Additional requirements may include the completion of a teacher education program.
Since the education requirements rely on regional accreditation and are not required to be teaching programs in West Virginia, online West Virginia teacher certification programs may be available through appropriately accredited schools. Online programs frequently use national and state education standards and can include student teaching experience.