The Rural Schools Collaborative   Thank you to North Dakota Small Organized Schools for being our North Dakota Hub partner. Thanks to Steven Johnson and ElRoy Burkle for their support!

The Rural Schools Collaborative   We believe that rural schools and communities get better together, and that a sustainable American future must include a thriving rural landscape.

The Rural Schools Collaborative   Supports public education through place-based engagement, rural philanthropy, and developing teacher leaders. Launched in 2015, RSC is led by a volunteer board and consists of strategic partners, advocates, and ten regional action Hubs.

The Rural Schools Collaborative How we implement our mission: Grants in Place Place Network Schools School Foundation Support Rural Teacher Corps Initiative

Grants in Place   Since 2015 the Rural Schools Collaborative and its partners have awarded more than $400,000 to rural teachers for innovative place-based projects.

North Dakota Grants: Alysa Palmer of Bottineau High School received $1,000 for a MakerSpace project. Kerri Zahrbock of Lisbon High School received $300 for a community mentorship program.

Why is Place-Based Important? Rural communities benefit from involvement and engagement. Students need stronger connections to their local communities. Learning networks need to expand from the school to the entire community. Learners often benefit from different teaching models Local challenges need innovative solutions and youthful input!

The need for strengthening place shows the need for Rural Philanthropy and School Foundations.   We help organization build capacity for local and regional philanthropy that focuses on the relationships between small schools and their communities.

Examples:   We continue to work with our founding partner, Community Foundation of the Ozarks and its Rural Schools Partnership program that includes more than 70 rural school districts and has developed more than $30 million in endowment since 2009. We are currently working in western Illinois with a regional foundation on $300,000 challenge grant project for seven rural school district foundations and three small town community funds.

North Dakota Community Foundation You are fortunate that you have an innovative statewide community foundation that is committed to partnerships that enhance rural communities, including school foundation. NDCF currently works with 13 school foundations.

Rural Teacher Corps Initiative   This is a mission-driven effort to create regional pipelines for the recruitment, preparation, and placement of rural teacher-leaders

The recruitment, preparation and placement of outstanding rural teacher-leaders is more important than ever.   In fact, public schools may be the best and most prevalent infrastructure available to attract intellectual capital into struggling or isolated rural regions.

We have to improve upon traditional teacher education program preparation. In addition to being more intentional, we need teacher-leaders who:  Have a strong sense of place, mission, and rural identity, Have a more comprehensive understanding of rural “issues,” Are savvy communicators, networkers, and users of new media; Recognize the value of collaboration, Are perceived as community leaders and catalysts for change. We will quickly examine three models: Black Belt Teacher Corps in Alabama, a local partnership model in Ohio, and the Ozarks Teacher Corps in Missouri.

Black Belt Teacher Corps Established by the University of West Alabama, who administers the program. Rural Schools Collaborative provided technical assistance for the planning and development phases

Black Belt Teacher Corps Funded by an annual state appropriation of $250,000 Students receive $6,000 annually in scholarship support for the commitment to teach in a rural Black Belt setting.

Black Belt Teacher Corps During student teaching students receive funding to coordinate a community-focused, place-based education project.

A Locally-Driven Approach A school district or districts develop a partnership with a higher education institution. A cohort of future teachers is established during the students’ junior or senior years of high school. Students take dual enrollment course(s) that will count toward their teacher education degree at a given institution. Some level of stipend or scholarship is provided as an incentive. Students are promised a teaching position in a specific school or within a group of schools. Interaction between the school, community, higher education institution, and students are coordinated by a point person in conjunction with the program.

Education Pathways: A partnership between Urbana University, Graham Local Schools and the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center

The core of the Ohio Hub’s Education Pathway program:   Ohio’s College Credit Plus program enables eligible high school students to take classes from partner universities & earn college credit. University curriculum is “delivered” by “credentialed” high school teachers. Students can also go online or take courses on campus. The “credentialed” instructor serves as the high school coordinator for the cohort of students who are in the program. These classes transfer to the higher education institution, which amounts in tangible cost savings for the student. The school district will maintain a relationship with the students and, hopefully, bring them back to the district as a certified teacher.

Ozarks Teacher Corps Funded by a $2 million endowment with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks—annual budget of approximately $100,000.

Ozarks Teacher Corps Students from four colleges and universities are eligible to apply during their sophomore years—typically 8-10 students per year are selected

Ozarks Teacher Corps Members receive a $4,000 per year scholarship with a commitment to teach in a rural Ozarks setting.

Ozarks Teacher Corps In addition to higher education coursework, they attend rural-specific seminars, visit exemplary schools, and have selected readings. Placement & Retention rate: 94%

More resources: Additional Partners: Monmouth College (IL) Great River Teacher Corps (Western Illinois University) Chico State University RiSE Program Eastern Illinois University New initiative: “I am a Rural Teacher!”