UCM Joins the Rural Schools Collaborative Regional Hub Network

 

The University of Central Missouri (UCM) will continue its efforts to support rural schools with a new network of resources and opportunities as a member of the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC).

UCM has joined the RSC Regional Hub Network, which includes the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and Missouri State University. 

Joining the RSC will help the UCM College of Education expand its Rural Schools Initiative, now in its fifth year. It is led by a leadership team comprising UCM Education faculty members, rural K-12 administrators and Central Regional Professional Development Center representatives.

UCM’s Rural Schools Initiative brings rural school districts together through two annual Rural School Summits and ongoing professional development opportunities. The summits, hosted each spring and fall, offer a day-long networking event at UCM with experts in different fields, plus the chance to meet with student-teachers seeking jobs.

“Our main goal is to provide an avenue for all of our rural schools to connect with each other so they feel less isolated,” said Charlene Atkins, Ph.D., professor of Mathematics Education and Rural Schools Initiative coordinator. “When we’re unable to provide something, we work diligently to connect rural districts to appropriate organizations and external resources.

“We also try very hard to work with them on teacher recruitment and retention. We connect our undergraduate students with the rural schools early so our students are more aware that these schools exist.”

UCM also helps integrate computer science into rural classrooms and provides flexible pathways for paraprofessionals to earn teaching credentials, helping schools grow their own educators and address teacher shortages.

Atkins said the RSC and UCM have a similar mission and values: helping rural schools overcome challenges, meet expectations and improve education by focusing on teacher recruitment, retention, and ongoing professional learning.

RSC Executive Director Taylor McCabe-Juhnke said UCM joins a thriving regional hub of innovators and experts in supporting rural schools.

“RSC’s Missouri partners – The Community Foundation of the Ozarks and Missouri State University – have long been drivers of excellence in rural education through collaborative programs like the Ozarks Teacher Corps,” McCabe-Juhnke said. “We are delighted for the University of Central Missouri to join the hub network, which will only deepen our shared work and regional impact.”

 

Thanks to a more extensive network, the RSC will help UCM strengthen its support for rural schools. Atkins said that joining the Regional Hub Network will allow UCM to gain insights from other colleges and universities across the country. Earlier this month, Atkins learned about a potential funding resource that she wouldn’t have known about without the RSC.

“We’ll be able to learn what others are doing and hear about unique situations that we aren’t aware of that would help us then help our local rural schools,” Atkins added. “It's bringing attention to rural schools and the challenges they face, and it’s just a bigger voice when you join.”

 

More than half of Missouri’s school districts are considered rural. Many struggle to recruit teachers, have limited resources and deal with issues different from their urban and suburban counterparts. Atkins grew up in a rural community and spent 15 years teaching math in a rural high school, so she understands the struggles and successes that can arise. She said there are several reasons why it is important for UCM to lend a helping hand.

“One of the biggest things is addressing the teacher shortage and making connections for those folks. The other is just improving education across the state,” Atkins said. “We get qualified teachers in those K-12 or K-8 classrooms, we're improving education for everyone at that point. And we're helping those communities. In many rural communities, the school is the foundation of the community, so if you keep the school thriving, you keep the community thriving as well.”

For more information about UCM’s Rural Schools Initiative, click here. For more information about the Rural Schools Collaborative, visit ruralschoolscollaborative.org.