The Colorado Department of Higher Education this week doled out a combined $300,000 to seven colleges and universities to fund programs aimed at fighting huge teacher shortages at the state’s rural school districts.

The money comes from a federal grant and is being funneled to those colleges that have forged relationships with Colorado’s 147 rural and small rural districts, said Kim Hunter Reed, executive director of the CDHE. The efforts will focus on recruiting local residents to become teachers, offering rural field experiences for teacher candidates and expanding professional development for teachers and administrators in high-need areas.

Some rural districts have gone for years without permanent teachers in key subject areas, including math, science and special education, education officials say. A recent report from the CDHE said Colorado sees about 5,000 educator openings a year, but supply has not kept up with demand.

Since 2010, enrollment in and completion of educator-preparation programs have declined by 24 percent and 17 percent, respectively, and nearly a third of Colorado educators will be eligible for retirement over the next several years.

Compounding the problem is that Colorado loses about 16 percent of new teachers within their first five years in the classroom. Low pay is most likely to blame, as 95 percent of teacher salaries are below the standard of living in rural areas, according to the CDHE report.

The University of Colorado at Boulder will use $42,000 from the grant to pay for a group of student teachers to spend a couple of days in a northeast Colorado district, where they will attend a local athletic event, visit a classroom and get to know members of the community, said School of Education Dean Katherine Schultz.

“We want them to see the incredible opportunities available to them in a rural district,” Schultz said.

CU also wants to help recruit middle school and high school students as prospective teachers, create a single “lab” classroom where teachers can learn from a veteran teacher and establish a master’s degree program for eligible teachers.

With its $25,000 grant, Adams State University has launched Project SERVE, which stands for Supporting Early Recruitment and Retention of Valley Educators. Twenty-two high school juniors and seniors in seven San Luis Valley schools are enrolled in Project SERVE.

The program cultivates high school students who are interested in becoming teachers and gives them a jump on college preparation, said Curtis Garcia, assistant professor of education and the project’s director.

The teacher cadets enroll in a course where they can earn three college credits along with high school credit. Adams State provides scholarships to cover student tuition during the course. The cadets will also complete 20 hours of volunteer service in an elementary or middle school, working with a mentor teacher in their district.

Garcia said recruiting good teacher candidates from within the district is ideal since many teachers who come from outside the San Luis Valley — where Adams State is located — don’t want to stay too long in local school districts.

“We believe we can grow our own pool of high quality teachers that are Valley natives and will stay and continue to serve their communities and schools,” Garcia said.