蜜桃影视

Educators in rural communities face unique challenges, but they also have special strengths that aren鈥檛 always found in urban and suburban schools. In California,where are in towns or rural areas, a new project is leveraging those strengths to help educators connect with one another and get the support they need.

The started in 2017 but recently launched an online resource bank that offers free informational and professional development articles about topics relevant to rural educators, such as teacher recruitment and adverse childhood experiences. The bank includes materials that were handpicked by experts as well as user-generated content, which researchers are in the process of vetting and verifying, said Rindy DeVoll, the network鈥檚 chair and a former teacher in Tehama County.

鈥淲e knew that we wanted the resources to be research-based,鈥� DeVoll said, but they also wanted to highlight and share effective practices rural educators are already using right away.

The idea for the network came about while DeVoll and some of her colleagues were traveling around the state to help rural schools implement a new approach to education called . They realized rural educators needed more support and a way to share best practices.

DeVoll helped create the network, then took over as chair when its founder retired last year. She鈥檚 especially excited about giving rural students the opportunity to talk about their own experiences.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the other thing we know about rural communities聽鈥斅爐here are some great stories,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd when people hear our stories, then maybe there鈥檚 some influence in the way that we serve students in education.鈥�

The network is composed of a steering committee and an advisory committee of educators and advocates from across the state, plus a panel of researchers. The group hosted a in Sacramento and surveyed educators and parents to gauge their concerns and inform the network鈥檚 priorities.

The Butte County Office of Education manages the network and hosts the content on its website, which contains hundreds of other resources for teachers. So far, funding for the initiative has come from the Butte and Orange county offices of education, DeVoll said.

The launched Oct. 1 and already has dozens of resources, which are available for free to anyone who visits the site. But it鈥檚 just one part of the network鈥檚 mission, DeVoll said. The steering committee is currently planning for its next summit in the spring, seeking ways to elevate student voices from rural communities, and connecting with state and national organizations to form partnerships.

By uniting rural schools and district offices, the network will bring attention to inequalities that disproportionately affect rural education systems. For example, rural districts often lose when they have to compete for grant money against larger districts that serve more students.

DeVoll said she hopes the network will become a state leader for rural education and eventually a national model.

鈥淲e are trying to amplify the voice of our rural schools and communities,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we just want to advocate for the educators and provide resources for them based on our unique features鈥� as rural communities.

Did you use this article in your work?

We鈥檇 love to hear how 蜜桃影视鈥檚 reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers.