May, 2001
Many of Rockingham's early teachers possessed little more that today's equivalent of a high school education when they began their teaching careers. Teacher certification could be gained by passing a teaching exam administered by the local school superintendent. The teacher's performance on this exam would determine the grade of certificate they would be awarded and thus, determine their teaching salary and often the size and remoteness of the school to which they would be assigned. Teachers with Professional certificates (all of whom were college-trained) were generally assigned positions in the high schools and the larger elementary schools. Teachers with less education and certification were given grade 1, grade 2 or grade 3 certificates and their assignments would generally be in the smaller one and two-room schools. Because of a shortage of teachers many teachers were issued "emergency" certificates. There were approximately 45 teachers in Rockingham County teaching with emergency certificates during the 1917-1918 school year. An example of this can be found in the 1917-18 certification records for Rockingham County. At that time, there were only a few four-year high school programs in Rockingham County. Bridgewater and Broadway were early examples.
Examples of early teachers in larger Rockingham County schools that offered a high school program (with certification and educational records) were:
Irma Burtner (Singers Glen) Elementary Professional Certificate with normal work at Shenandoah College and Seminary at Dayton.
Ruth Brown (Broadway) Professional Certificate with normal work at Harrisonburg Normal School (Now James Madison University)
Elizabeth Harnsberger (Broadway) Collegiate Certificate with professional studies at Randolph-Macon Women's College.
F. C. Hamer (Grottoes) Collegiate Certificate with professional studies at the University of Virginia.
Prior to the opening of Harrisonburg Normal School (1908), many of Rockingham's teachers received their professional training at West Central Academy, which operated from 1890-1902 at Mt. Clinton. The State Department of Education would also operate summer normals which allowed teachers to get additional training during the summer months.
Shenandoah Collegiate Institute and Seminary at Dayton and Bridgewater College also offered teacher training programs. In 1919, Eastern Mennonite School was created to offer a teacher training program. Most of Rockingham County's early black educators were educated at Hampton University (most notable of these was Lucy Simms, who was born in Harrisonburg as a slave and later taught in Rockingham County and at the Effinger School in Harrisonburg.