“Resourcefulness over resources” was echoed throughout an hour-long session titled “Resilient Leadership to Enhance Opportunities for Rural Youth” on Thursday afternoon at the AASA National Conference on Education in New Orleans.
All five panelists serve in leadership roles in various statewide and national organizations that promote advancement in rural education. They all agreed that being aware of the strengths and struggles of rural school districts was essential to bettering the educational opportunities for students.
Melissa Sadorf, executive director of the Arizona Rural Schools Association and former superintendent of the Stanfield Elementary School District in Stanfield, Ariz., told the audience: “You’re not just bouncing back, but you have to lead forward.” Owing to the lack of resources in rural communities, she said, “being creative within restraints” is the key to succeeding in rural school systems.
Sadorf also emphasized the essential nature of community support. “Relationships are infrastructure and it’s not just about the programs. It’s about the people,” she said.
Working with local businesses and their leaders to foster growth for the students was reinforced by Bret Miles, executive director at the Colorado Association of School Executives, as he described the tiny house production initiative. The tiny houses are built completely by high school students alongside local construction companies to provide housing for teachers while giving significant work experiences for students. The construction companies also frequently hire the students upon graduation.
In northwestern Colorado, Miles described a program that allowed high school students in one school to earn 1,899 college credits in total.
Another program focusing on rural schools is the STARS program introduced by Andy Mink, director for rural initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution. The STARS program, run from the Whipple Observatory in Amado, Ariz., supplies rural students with telescopes and the opportunity to learn about the solar system.
Bronwyn Ragan-Martin, deputy superintendent for rural education and innovation for the Georgia Department of Education, echoed several other panelists by saying, “We need to provide support for non-academic barriers such as food, safety and transportation.”
Ragan-Martin said some schools have partnered with community food pantries to give needy students more support.
Ragan-Martin’s state agency in Georgia awards large grants to small school systems. “We have to make it simple for districts to apply for funds because most areas don’t have grant writers,” she said. Making sure funds are accessible is a key way to support rural communities.
Todd Dugan, superintendent of the Bunker Hill Community Unit School District 8 in Bunker Hill, Ill. wants everyone to focus on the positive aspects of rural schools. “We create classes not only based on teacher interest, but also on student surveys and interests,” he said.
Dugan offered a visual display of a highway with an exit sign that had a million different options rather than just two or three, highlighting the experience of rural students approaching the end of 12th grade. Being in a rural school gives students these types of options and should not be seen as a negative, he said.
“It is a duct-tape-and-baling [wire] type of leadership,” Sadorf said emphatically, a comment that was met by a cheer across the room. She quipped, “Resilience isn’t an option.”
(Ruthie Feinstein, a sophomore at Benjamin Franklin High School in New Orleans, is a reporter for Conference Daily Online.)
