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How Colorado is Supporting its Rural School Districts

As rural school districts everywhere continue to struggle with acquiring and retaining quality teachers, Colorado’s Department of Higher Education has developed several unique programs to entice teachers to stay.

The department has five programs targeting schools in rural areas. It will expand Teacher Quality grants to support more professional development for teachers. The grants will also aid science, technology, engineering and math programs in rural districts — especially in northern Colorado.

The Department of Higher Education will also conduct roundtable meetings to develop a pipeline of teachers to rural school districts. The first meeting will be held in February.

“We’re going to sit down and say, ‘hey look, what can we do?'” Mitchell said. “What can we put in place to help develop this pipeline, to help strengthen the pipeline of teachers going into these rural communities?”

The Adams State University Foundation will work with DHE to help more teachers meet the requirements to teach concurrent enrollment programs. Concurrent enrollment allows students to earn college credit while still in high school.

The Colorado GEAR UP program will continue to work with the state to provide support to students from lower income families seek careers in education.

The Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative awards $3.4 million in grant money to support students across the state –including those in rural areas — to allow them to attend college and enter the workforce.

NBC 9 News Colorado | State offers help to rural school districts

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N.C. State Northeast Leadership Academy Program Wins School Leader Award

The University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) awarded the 2014 Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation Program Award to North Carolina State University for its Northeast Leadership Academy (NELA) program. NCU is one of only two programs in the nation to receive the award. The two-year Masters of School Administration program prepares future principals and assistant principals for work as “turnaround specialists” in North Carolina’s rural school districts. Bertie County is one of the thirteen school districts served by NELA.

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Rural Schools Praised by U.S. Education Chief Duncan

U.S. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan was a panelist at the 2014 Rural Education National Forum held in Columbus, Ohio. While praising the Ohio Appalachian Collaborative for its work in improving graduation rates and streamlining funding to prioritize teachers and classrooms, Duncan also drew attention to common issues facing rural school districts nationwide such as high faculty turnover rates, lack of adequate funding and limited access to technology. These issues are explored at length in Raising Bertie, an upcoming documentary following three at-risk youth in rural North Carolina over the course of five years.

The Rural Education National Forum began last year through a partnership with Battelle for Kids and the Ohio and Kentucky education departments. You can watch the speech in its entirety here.

The Columbus Dispatch | Rural Schools Praised in Columbus Stop by U.S. Education Chief Duncan