A Landscape Analysis of Educators Rising in Rural Wisconsin Schools

• In Event: Growing Your Own Teachers: Building Community-Focused Teacher Pipelines

Abstract

Wisconsin has 328 rural or town school districts that educate 44% of students statewide, yet a persistent and increasingly dire teacher shortage is creating an educational crisis. The academic success of rural youth, the development of the next generation of public leaders, and the sustainability of rural communities are all at stake. Educators Rising (ER), a national “Grow Your Own” (GYO) approach with presence in 30+ states, provides a framework for encouraging middle and/or high school students to become educators. Over 100 district-based ER programs exist in rural Wisconsin schools, yet little is known about what these programs do, nor how (and whether) to support them through state policy.
Teachers with a rural background are more likely to come to, and remain in, positions in rural schools compared with those from non-rural backgrounds (Lazarev et al., 2017). In addition to enhancing school culture and climate through reduced turnover, rural districts’ ability to retain teachers also reduces costs associated with hiring and training new staff (Reininger, 2012). GYO training and recruitment programs are an increasingly common strategy across rural schools to expand the “pipeline” of educators that addresses teacher and community compatibility (Hanover Research, 2016). Rural teacher retention is related to the strength of educators’ relationships with colleagues, administrators, students, and the broader community (Author & Colleague, 2021), and GYO programs encourage these relationships.
Our study analyzes the current landscape of ER programs in Wisconsin using surveys, case studies, and stakeholder interviews. The research is a mixed methods explanatory sequential design (Creswell et al., 2003). In Phase 1, survey data has been collected that identifies which rural schools in Wisconsin have implemented different components of ER; the number of participants, and potential impact on the “pipeline” of rural educators; and perceptions of key stakeholders at the state and local level regarding successes and challenges in implementing ER. In Phase 2, the survey data will inform qualitative case study site selection according to maturity of ER program, level of rurality, and proximity to teacher preparation programs.
Initial findings reveal that despite a considerable number of rural ER chapters in Wisconsin, the majority are nascent. This is not for lack of effort by school leaders and program coordinators to facilitate the program, but due more to lack of resources or relationships needed to attract youth, create opportunities for students to develop skills and knowledge about education careers, and coordinate with teacher preparation programs. We will probe these preliminary findings through analysis of student focus groups and interviews with program graduates. These student perspectives will offer a counterpoint to those of rural Wisconsin educators and provide insight into what aspects of ER are attractive and/or useful, what the barriers are to imagining a future in rural communities, and how to strengthen the pathway from student to teacher candidate.
In sum, our study examines ER as one common rural GYO program to understand how this type of initiative is being implemented and identify initial impacts on addressing teacher shortages in rural Wisconsin and beyond.

Author

• Jennifer Laura Seelig, NORC at the University of Chicago
  Presenting Author