Posts Tagged ‘rural education’

What Do School Districts Need in Their Principal Pipelines?

Listen to Episode 2 of Preparing and Sustaining School Principals 

AACTE’s newest podcast, AACTE PRESENTS: Preparing & Sustaining School Principals, shines a spotlight on the unsung heroes of schools and universities – our principals and the people who make them. As the leading voice in educator preparation, we engage in candid conversations with researchers, faculty, practitioners, and scholars to explore what makes an effective PK-12 school leader and how to prepare them. 

In this episode, we delve into principal pipelines, a key factor in ensuring schools are staffed with collaborative, effective leadership. Building on insights from Wallace’s Principal Pipeline Learning Community in 2019, where 84 school districts collaborated, this episode’s guests explore the approaches, opportunities, and challenges identified in the latest Wallace knowledge, a Principal Pipeline Sustainability Guide developed by Policy Study Associates.  

Biden-Harris Administration Awards $44.5 Million to Improve Postsecondary Education Access and Completion for Students in Rural Communities

The Biden-Harris Administration announced $44.5 million in grants to 22 institutions of higher education to improve rates of postsecondary education enrollment, persistence, and completion among students in rural communities. The Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development (RPED) grant program promotes the development of high-quality career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region.

In America’s rural communities, only 29% of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 are enrolled in higher education, compared to almost 48% of their counterparts in urban areas and 42% in suburban areas. In addition to navigating how to pay for college and the application process, students in rural areas face other barriers to accessing and completing college, including reliable transportation, food and housing insecurity, and access to health care and high-speed internet.

“The grants announced today by the Biden-Harris Administration reflect our commitment to empowering rural communities to build on their strengths, attract new investments, and prepare students for the high-skill, high-wage jobs of tomorrow,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “When we invest in postsecondary attainment in rural communities, we create pathways for students to find rewarding careers that do not require them to leave their hometowns for economic opportunity. These grant awards will help rural institutions Raise the Bar for student success and the attainment of valuable degrees and credentials that lead to brighter futures and greater prosperity.”

A full version of the press release is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s website.

New UM Scholarship Seeks to Improve Teacher Shortage in Rural Alabama Schools

Throughout Alabama, rural school systems are experiencing teacher shortages that the University of Montevallo is stepping up to try and fill.

UM’s College of Education and Human Development has committed to increasing the number of highly qualified teachers to serve in targeted rural public schools by offering the new Rural Recruitment Scholarship to support and prepare students to teach in rural schools.

“Although Alabama is experiencing a statewide teacher shortage, vacancies disproportionately impact rural schools,” said Dr. Courtney C. Bentley, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “The College of Education and Human Development is extremely grateful for these generous funds that will help us prepare highly qualified teachers to serve students in these rural communities.”

MSU-led, NSF-Funded Project Aims to Strengthen Rural Educator Pipeline

Female teacher in front of classroom

(photo by Megan Bean / © Mississippi State University) Partnership Middle School English class – MSU secondary education major Lauren Threadgill works with a class of seventh grade students as a student intern in the school.

A $2.4 million National Science Foundation grant supports a Mississippi State University-led project that aims better prepare educators for teaching in rural settings. 

Mississippi State University is leading a nationwide project with the goal of better preparing educators for teaching in rural settings.

With $2.4 million in support from the National Science Foundation, the project entitled “Investigating STEM Teacher Preparation and Rural Teacher Persistence and Retention” brings together 14 universities to address workforce challenges in school settings, particularly for STEM teachers in rural areas. The project examines how educator preparation programs impact future STEM teachers’ intentions to teach in rural schools, as well as their retention rates at rural schools once they are in the workforce. Studies have shown that in addition to struggling to recruit teachers, rural schools have the highest rates of teacher attrition, with higher attrition rates occurring in the southern U.S. and in schools that serve low-income and minority students.

Belmont University Announces New Partnership to Recruit and Train Math Teacher

Belmont University logoIn partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education and local public school districts, Belmont University announced a new initiative to recruit, train and support the next generation of mathematics teachers in the Midstate region.

The newly established Belmont University Math Teacher Residency will leverage partnerships with area school systems — including in several rural communities — to enable high-quality potential candidates to become mathematics teachers in secondary schools across Middle Tennessee. 

With $2 million in grant funding awarded to Belmont University through a competitive state grant process, the program will place each teacher candidate in an in-school “residency” — a paid educational position in a classroom where they will learn from and receive support from an experienced mentor teacher. Concurrently, candidates will enroll in high-quality, intensive online coursework at Belmont, deepening their content knowledge and learning effective pedagogical strategies. Belmont professors will work alongside candidates’ mentor teachers to ensure that instruction has immediate and meaningful classroom application.

Day on the Hill: Making a Difference in Early Childhood and Rural Education

As a former early childhood public school prekindergarten teacher in rural South Carolina, I have always engaged in advocacy for better educational policies. I have been engrossed in issues such as reduced recess, teacher professional development policies, parent access, and teacher training since I was in the classroom. I continue to serve as a point of inspiration as a 13-year veteran teacher educator at a historically black college and university (HBCU). Such personal connections and identified issues led me not only to serve on the AACTE Committee on Government Relations and Advocacy but also to engage in AACTE’s “Day on the Hill.”

AACTE’s Government Relations and Advocacy Committee is as way for me to provide support, experience, and advice in an area that I feel honored to have some expertise in—early childhood teacher education—to affect change at the highest level of the United States Government through the AACTE community. I have always said, “I trust my leaders, but they always need to have access to all of the information and the right information to make a comprehensively informed decision.” I lay that same claim to politicians and other policy makers and enforcers. This committee has given me much additional excitement because I not only see changes happening, but also, I believe that my small, humble contributions help make a difference.

A Congressional Success for Rural STEM Education

STEM education. Science Technology Engineering Mathematics. STEM concept with drawing background. Magnifying glass over education background.

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation, endorsed by AACTE—the Rural STEM Education Research Act (HR 210.) The legislation supports research and development to increase access to STEM education opportunities in rural schools and to provide teachers with the resources they need to teach more effectively.

The bill also directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop a prize competition to advance research and development of creative technologies for expanded broadband access. This bill further provides for assessments of Federal investments in rural STEM education to be conducted by the National Academies and the Government Accountability Office. The bipartisan legislation was introduced by House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) and passed the House with bipartisan support.  It is unclear if the Senate will approve the bill.

Frostburg State University’s Innovative Residency Program Prepares Teachers in Critical Shortage Areas

Boyce C. WilliamsIn October 2019, Frostburg State University (FSU) was awarded a five-year, $4.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the Maryland Accelerates: Teacher-Leader Residency for Inclusive Excellence program. This new program addresses Absolute Priority and Competitive Preference Priority I under the Department’s Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) Program. By leveraging partnerships in high-need and rural schools, this innovative teacher-leader residency program will help realize State priorities in preparing and retaining highly effective teachers in the critical shortage areas of science, mathematics, computer science, English, and elementary education.

Modeled after the recommendations of the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education (also known colloquially as the Kirwan Commission), the program includes a full-year practicum, mentorship, extensive classroom observation, and research opportunities with an emphasis on culturally-responsive pedagogy, mathematical problem-solving, and computational thinking followed by an extended induction program. Graduates of the program receive a Master of Arts in Teaching degree and are mentored and supported through their early years of teaching to develop competency-based practices to move them towards achieving National Board Certification.

Digitalachia Podcast – Higher Education Responds to Digital Learning Needs

The following article features a podcast interview with AACTE’s Jacqueline Rodriguez addressing higher education’s strategies to ensure teacher and educator candidates access and benefit from the digital learning environment. 

Jacqueline Rodriguez and Robert Brown

The Digitalachia Podcast hosted by Robert Brown of the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) welcomed  Jacqueline Rodriquez, vice president of research, policy, and advocacy with the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE).  The topic of discussion is higher education and incorporating virtual and blended learning models in the digital world.

WGU North Carolina Signs Agreement with Rowan-Salisbury School System

Will provide scholarships up to $4,800 to help teacher assistants earn teaching degrees

WGU North Carolina, an affiliate of the national online Western Governors University, has signed an agreement with Rowan-Salisbury School System (RSS) to help classified staff, such as teacher assistants, advance their careers by earning bachelor’s degrees and teacher certifications.

Any Rowan-Salisbury School System teacher assistant who enrolls in one of WGU North Carolina’s teacher-preparation programs will receive up to $800 in tuition credit per six-month term, after any Pell Grants have been exhausted, for up to three years. RSS employees will also receive an application-fee waiver code.

Additionally, WGU North Carolina will create a unique URL for RSS employees and promote this opportunity through printed materials, social media, on-site presentations and other channels. Employees will also have access to WGU career services resources and events, and WGU NC staff will be available to participate in any education/benefits fairs, seminars, and “lunch and learn” presentations offered by Rowan-Salisbury Schools.

Frostburg State Receives $4 Million Grant From U.S. Department Of Education

Department of Education logo

This article originally appeared in the Bottom Line and is reprinted with permission.

Frostburg State University was recently awarded a $4 million grant through the Maryland Accelerates Teacher Education Program. The grant, which is in partnership with Garrett County and Frederick County public schools as well as FSU’s Master of Arts in Teaching, will serve to raise the number of certified teachers in Maryland schools. It will also provide a professional development path in which teachers will have the ability to mentor new education professionals.

The program is estimated to make a substantial impact on the community, with 40 new teachers joining the program and over 130 established educators becoming mentors. The grant will also aid approximately 4,500 students in rural communities. The program is aimed at subjects where there is a critical need for teachers.

Thrive! Rural America Initiative Addresses Challenges Facing Rural Communities

Teacher working with student in a rural schoolThis post is an excerpt from an article that originally appeared in Texas Tech Today and is reprinted with permission.

Situated within rural America, Texas Tech University is responding to rural challenges, with researchers in many specialties coming together to partner with rural communities, civic organizations and industries to develop models for change.

Texas Tech and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) researchers are working to address the challenges facing rural Americans, including water supply, energy costs, national teacher shortage, obesity rates, suicide rates, and fewer mental health workers.

California Rural Schools Struggling To Hire Teachers Could Get Help from $9.4 Million In Grants

This article and photo originally appeared in EdSource and are reprinted with permission.

Jennifer Garza, a 7th grade English teacher at Green Acres Middle School in Visalia, was teaching on an intern credential in 2015.

Two federal grants totaling over $9.4 million will help California recruit teachers and mental health professionals to rural schools.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded the five-year grants to the California Center on Teaching Careers, an organization started in 2016 to help solve the persistent teacher shortage. The center is run by the Tulare County Office of Education, in partnership with California State University Bakersfield.

MSU Receives Funding for Five-Year Project to Educate Teachers to Fill Jobs in Rural Montana

Rural Montana

Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

This article and photo originally appeared on the Montana State University website and are reprinted with permission.

Montana State University’s Department of Education and its partners have received funding totaling $6.2 million for a program delivered mostly online that is designed to recruit, train and mentor dozens of high-quality educators to work in rural areas of Montana.

The funds include a $3.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education and more than $3.1 million in matching funds and services from nearly a dozen partner organizations. They will be used for a five-year project, “Addressing Rural Recruitment and Retention in Montana,” that aims to address a shortage of teachers in rural locations across the state.

“We are excited to provide training and professional development in the first two years of their teaching careers to residents of rural, high-needs communities along with the Montana Office of Public Instruction and our many statewide partners,” said MSU education professor Ann Ewbank, the project’s principal investigator.

“Our common goal is to ensure that every student, from Broadus to Lolo, and from Scobey to Troy, has access to highly effective educators,” Ewbank added. “The Teacher Quality Partnership grant has the potential to strengthen K-12 education in rural communities. When rural schools thrive, Montana thrives.”

Call for Book Chapters: Research on Leadership and Advocacy for Children and Families in Rural Poverty

As co-editors, we are seeking chapter authors for a book we are publishing with IGI Global for release in 2020 titled Handbook of Research on Leadership and Advocacy for Children and Families in Rural Poverty. This interdisciplinary book will address issues related to education, counseling, social work, public policy, health, and leadership.

Education researchers and practitioners are invited to submit a 1,000 to 2,000 word chapter proposal by April 25, 2019. All submitted chapters will undergo a double-blind review.