NREA Weekly Update: July 14, 2023

The Rural Educator

Read the latest issue of The Rural Educator by visiting ruraleducator.info.

You can help the editors and give feedback to authors by becoming a reviewer. To sign up to be a reviewer, complete the reviewer registration form here.

Follow the Rural Educator on Twitter @EducatorRural.

NEW I Am A Rural Teacher Podcast:

Brian Skinner - Newton, KS

We are excited to share a NEW story through the I Am A Rural Teacher Podcast! The I Am A Rural Teacher project is a continued collaboration between NREA and Rural Schools Collaborative focused on shifting the rural narrative through teacher storytelling.

Brian Skinner is a high school special education teacher from Newton, Kansas, who was named a 2023 Kansas Teacher of the Year for his outstanding work with his students. He spoke about community connectedness, as well as his experience touring the state with other Teachers of the Year. Listen to the full podcast (or read, if you prefer) on the I Am A Rural Teacher website!

Listen Now

Rural Leadership Network Application

The Rural Leadership Network (RLN) is a community of practice (CoP) that provides networking and mentoring for rural leaders and provides an opportunity for these leaders to meet and network with other rural leaders from multiple states. The RLN is open to superintendents, superintendent/principals or principals from any rural school district.

Please submit your application no later than Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

The RLN is presented by the Arizona Rural Schools Association (ARSA), California Small School Districts' Association (SSDA), Grand Canyon University's Canyon Professional Development, and Northern Arizona University's Rural Schools' Resource Center.

Learn More and Apply

REC Foundation:

Interview with a Rural STEM Teacher from Oregon

Laurie Ross teaches English to 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students at Lost River Junior/Senior High School in the small town Merrill, Oregon, population 830. In addition to English, Laurie also serves as the high school robotics instructor at Lost River. This year, her team made it to the VEX Robotics World Championship for the first time, after securing a spot by coming in first at the Oregon State Robotics Championship. REC Foundation sat down to talk about what inspires Laurie, and what it’s like to teach robotics in rural areas.