Special Considerations for Rural Schools

Because of their size and distance from larger communities, rural schools often face additional challenges when it comes to beginning teachers (Anderson, 2000; Collins, 1999; Lenhardt, 2000). For one thing, the school may have trouble finding applicants with connections to the area. Although there may be benefits to bringing a new person into a small community to teach, the feelings of loneliness, isolation, and stress are magnified when new teachers lack personal support systems outside school (Collins, 1999; Henson & Shapiro, 1999).

Geographic isolation of rural schools, particularly in states like Alaska, Idaho, and Montana, presents other barriers, too: school-university partnerships can be more difficult to implement, there may be fewer available mentors nearby, and regular meetings with teachers in the same subject area or grade level are nearly impossible (Geringer, 2000). A few ideas for supporting and retaining new teachers in rural schools are described below.

Attempt to recruit teachers who are originally from rural areas, and provide incentives for them to remain in the community. Some states, including Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Florida, offer financial incentives, such as low-rent housing, low-interest home loans, or partial forgiveness of college debts, to encourage teachers to stay in hard-to-staff rural schools (Collins, 1999).

Make an extra effort to welcome new teachers and get them involved in the community. The more connected beginning teachers feel to the school and to people in the community (students and parents, as well as administrators and other teachers), the more likely they are to have a positive experience and stay (Collins, 1999; Henson & Shapiro, 1999). Consider developing an online mentoring partnership with other small schools in the region. If possible, collaborate with similar sized schools that have roughly the same demographics as your school. This way, a new teacher responsible for teaching all levels of a given subject, such as high school math, can be paired with a more experienced teacher who has a similar assignment at another small school. While there is no substitute for having a mentor on hand in your own school building, being paired with someone who teaches the same grade or the same subjects under similar circumstances is valuable, too. For a description of an online mentoring program in Montana, see the Northwest Sampler section of this booklet.

Support both new and veteran teachers' participation in quality professional development activities (Geringer, 2000). This may mean setting aside more money for travel, providing extra release time, or offering stronger incentives for teachers to take classes, attend seminars, and engage in collaborative action research. Point new teachers in the direction of distance learning opportunities (Collins, 1999).

Provide the technology, including e-mail and Internet access, for new teachers to remain connected to colleagues, former professors, and friends in other areas. Two North Carolina school districts used videoconferencing to allow teachers at several rural schools to discuss issues specific to beginning teachers (Henson & Shapiro, 1999).

Guide new teachers to resources available to them over the Internet. Ensure they have the technology (i.e., computers and Internet access) and the skills to access those resources. The Appendix lists several online resources for beginning teachers.

For additional discussion of how states are recruiting and retaining rural educators, see the December 1999 ERIC Digest from the Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, Attracting and Retaining Teachers in Rural Areas, which is available online at http://www.ael.org/eric/digests/edorc997.htm.