What Positive Narrative Would You Want A Prospective Teacher To Know About Your Community? Presented by Dr. Steven L. Johnson, Superintendent, Steven.Johnson@k12.nd.us Twitter @Johnson557377 August 20, 2019

Stakeholder Dialogue – “What Positive Narrative Would You Want A Prospective Teacher To Know About Your Community?”

Rural School Leadership – International Symposium For Innovation in Rural Education (ISFIRE), National Rural Education Association, Rural Schools Collaborative and ND Small Organized Schools NO – Deficit Model The model includes all things which are wrong. This type of research does very little for positive change. Do not allow negative research dominate your discussions. Instead, focus on things that are going right in your community. The quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers G.E.R.M – Global Education Reform Movement– Most countries throughout the world are being faced with four or five educational initiatives including increases in accountability, required educational standards, standardized testing, national curriculum adoption and classroom readiness focus HR Capacity – rural districts are more limited dedicated recruitment strategies, communication capacity, and ability to provide differentiated supports and resources Recruitment and retention in rural communities is about connecting to the stories of the place Collaboration with colleges of education are critical partners in building strong talent pipelines

What are you noticing about the recruitment, placement and retention of outstanding rural teacher-leaders? Teacher pay is a major issue but not the only answer Shortage of qualified candidates (national trend of young moving to urban areas) Communities need to do a better job of marketing their assets Retention is often difficult if teachers do not develop a relationship with community Need to look at alternative forms of attracting and developing and alternative forms of certification

Does your community honor the position of a teacher? Communities must convey to new teachers that they are a valued part of the overall community There must be intentional efforts to connect new teachers to the social fabric of a given community Mentorship programs that pair new teachers with true teacher-leaders Explore collaboration with community/school foundations and private foundations to provide incentives for new rural teachers to move into advanced degrees Principal’s meaningful supports and performance reviews are important for retention

District administration must have teachers who are classroom ready, school ready and most importantly community ready! Grow your own – Strategic Planning – JET, Scholarships, Partners, Loan forgiveness Collaboration with colleges of education School improvement plans – Mission, Vision, Goals and Values. Tell your story Build communications through direct and personal conversations Constructive confrontation with a strong commitment and investment in principals doing their job Align financial commitment with district priorities Sense of community with a strong belief in local control

Proven strategies to strengthen recruitment, preparation, and retention of outstanding rural teachers-leaders. Develop a network of positive role models to encourage people to become rural teachers Reframe the rural narrative by emphasizing the positive aspects of rural experience Focus on efforts that “recruit” students during their k-12 school years Develop efforts to recruit mid-career professionals who may be tied to a given community Seek opportunities to develop programs that include scholarship incentives for teachers to commit to a rural teaching placement Build community collaboration as to the important of educators

How do we work together to enhance the preservation of future rural teacher-leaders? Promote more intensive and real life experience in rural schools Rural teacher preparation programs need to be more “futuristic” Build stronger focus on the teacher as a respected professional Preparation should include a stronger emphasis on being a community member

Survey of Rural Schools and Communities Cooperative Effort of NREA, RSC and TNTP Purpose of the Survey was to gather information on recruitment and retention of rural teachers Information gathered will give us a better understanding of assets and opportunities to recruit and retain teachers www.RuralSurvey.org The recruitment and retention in rural communities requires a connection to the stories of a place.

Satisfaction finding of ND Educators North Dakota Educators overall rated job satisfaction very high scoring in the 60% or higher North Dakota Educators were most satisfied in the technology resources followed by being well informed about their rural community North Dakota Educators lowest satisfaction was the feeling that the community did not reach out to embrace them as new teachers with a slightly higher rating with access to collaborate with peers.

Time in Community and Barriers 60% lived in the community for over 7 years. 11% one year or less Distance – 63% more than 30 miles from where they went to school Barriers – 12% lack of healthcare Barriers – 22% comparably low salary Barriers – 27% lack of available housing Barriers – 28% distance to amenities Barriers – OTHERS – lack of jobs for spouse, limited broadband, isolated area, poverty of community, stepping stone to larger school, culture of community, lack opportunities to meet others (social and cultural) Barriers – Employment May 2018 to May 2019 Growth to metro areas. ND only had seven non metro center counties have growth in jobs. Nationally on 5.5% of new jobs were in non metro areas.

Cultivating and Supporting Effective Rural School Leaders State Support Network through Department of Education led by Battelle for Kids – Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah Purpose – State support strategies for rural leadership development, improve quality and viability of State’s rural principal pipeline, align efforts to support principals as change agents with the context of ESEA priorities, and improve LEA human capital capacity to support rural principals, particularly in how they recruit and retain teachers. Each State had to develop a “Theory of Action”

Time for Q & A? Questions: ISFIRE, NREA, TNTP, RSC, & NDSOS HUB Rural School Summit sponsored by NDSOS & NDDPI – deadline 06-24-19 for https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/rural-school-summit-tickets-60879242453 for September 25, 2019 in Bismarck featuring Ben Winchester, “Re-writing the Rural Narrative”

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