Reach University
Project Title
For project support to expand their Teachers College in the Delta region
Date
Mar. 05, 2026
Duration
24 months
Description
The Delta region, including parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Alabama,suffers fromsevere educator shortages due to rural isolation,high poverty, and limited access to teacher preparation programs. Reach University will partner with school districts in this geography to address this issue through a job-embedded teacher apprenticeship degree model that trains school support staff to become licensed teachers, improving teacher quality and economic outcomes for educators. Founded in 2020, Reach University offers a debt-free pathway for working adults, integrating their current employment in schools with a mentorship-based curriculum, enabling teacher candidates to earn a salary while completing their degrees. With Carnegie’s support, Reach University plans to increase enrollment in the Delta region from 1,500 to 2,400 candidates and expand into Mississippi. Funding will support enhanced recruitment, onboarding, advising, and faculty capacity-building. This initiative is projected to significantly boost teacher candidate earnings by up to 55.5 percent, generating up to $31M inadditionalearnings for teacher candidates in the Delta region and providing local school districts with a reliable pipeline of qualified teachers.