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Local teacher earns special scholarship

A local elementary school teacher recently had the opportunity to earn her master’s in curriculum and instruction through Western Governors University (WGU) Indiana and their Online Access Scholarship (OAS).

Kayla Whitacre, originally from Missouri, started off her teaching career in Fort Wayne, where she taught eighth grade language arts for two years. After that, she taught fourth grade at Lancaster Elementary School in Huntington for two years, until it closed. She then moved to Salamonie Elementary School and has taught fourth grade there for four years.

Whitacre heard of WGU Indiana from other educators and decided it would be a good way for her to further her education. Whitacre chose curriculum and instruction to learn “new techniques and new strategies to reach them (students).”

“I always want to better myself as an educator. I know how important my job is and if there is anything I can do to better reach these kids, that’s what I want to do,” Whitacre said.

Being married and the mother of two, Whitacre says that her time in earning her master’s wasn’t easy.

“I would be waking up at 4 o’clock in the morning to work on my master’s and then getting the kids up and ready,” Whitacre said. “Both of my kids last year were in elementary, so we all went to school together. So then they’re trying to be entertained in my classroom early in the morning while I’m trying to get stuff ready for school and then I tutored after school.”

Whitacre started her studies in January 2021 and it took about five months to complete her master’s from WGU’s Teaching College.

It may have taken her longer, however, if it weren’t for the OAS.
According to the WGU website, the OAS “will cover the cost of installing and accessing Internet for students who might not otherwise be able to get online.

The scholarship will also provide recipients with a refurbished laptop, complete with a webcam.”

   “I live out in the middle of the country and we have one option for Internet and it does not work,” Whitacre said. “It was huge for us to get that (scholarship) because otherwise, I’d have to go to the library or go to school after hours or on the weekends and that just did not seem very feasible. So they actually sent me a hotspot and it’s completely unlimited. I can use as much of it as I need and so I was able to progress.”

Whitacre continued, “At the beginning I did—I think—five courses in the first month and I was able to get on the Internet as much as I needed. I started Jan. 1, so I had a full week before we went back to school during winter break and I just focused on school and I was able to get a lot of that knocked out. And I absolutely could not have been as successful as I was without the Online Access Scholarship.”

Though she wants to share what she’s learned with her fellow educators, Whitacre has encouraged other teachers to pursue similar education and find ways around obstacles like she did.

“I would say don’t let that (obstacles) stop you, because I didn’t know if I was going to be able to get this done, how long it was going to take me, and being able to just buckle down and focus, I was able to finish in one six-month term,” Whitacre said. “With the way that WGU is set up, you pay per six-month term, so I didn’t have to pay nearly as much as I thought I would have to for this degree.

“I was worried, you know, with me being a full-time teacher, would I have time, with me being a mom and my kids being in sports. I mean if it’s a priority to you, then you’ll find the time.”