Check out our PODCAST!
The "Perspectives in Rural Education" podcast welcomes listeners into conversations with various teachers and administrators who are passionate in sharing their perspectives and experiences in Rural Education.
Episode 1: Victoria Norton
Episode 1 featured Victoria Norton, the Martinsville Elementary School Principal. Victoria's passion for education and love for her students shines through as she shares about her journey and career in Rural Education.
Episode 2: Brianna Gaston
Episode 2 of the podcast featured Brianna Gaston, a recent EIU graduate who now teaches 5th grade. Her vision for her classroom and students will leave you feeling inspired, this is an episode you don't want to miss!
Episode 3: Bill Fritcher
Episode 3 features Bill Fritcher who has given 33+ years to rural education as a teacher, principal, and superintendent serving in many different districts. Listen in as he reflects on his career in education!
RSI Mentoring and Support Planning Group
The College of Education Mentoring and Support Planning group had their first meeting on January 24. This group is composed of teacher educators who will develop ideas and plans for a support system to retain students in teacher education programs and provide support to graduates as they transition into the teaching profession. This group will gather information and provide guidance to teacher education programs this spring. We also hope to expand this discussion to our P-12 partners and stakeholders as we move forward.
Spring 2022 New Teacher Mini-Grants
The purpose of the fund is to support future and new rural teachers in Southeastern Illinois, especially those who participate in a Rural Teacher Corps in high school, community college, or EIU. The Central Illinois Rural Teacher Corps fund will be awarding up to 6 $200 teacher grants to 1st and 2nd-year teachers at k-12 schools in Southeastern Illinois. Please go to our Rural Teacher Corps page (link below) for more information.
Southeastern Illinois P-16+ Computational Thinking Network
The Illinois Innovation Network has awarded funds to EIU for a planning group to develop a regional P-16+ computational thinking network. The group is an outgrowth of remote learning and technology discussions with our partners at Lakeland College, the Math Science Technology Education Center (MSTE) at UIUC, and P-12 educators. We will gather information and facilitate discussions, professional learning, site visits, summer workshops and plan a few pilot sites for the fall. We will meet monthly as a general group and workgroups will meet as necessary. The initial workgroups are Elementary, Secondary, Post-secondary/Workforce development, and Education & Business Partnerships. We are looking for educators and stakeholders to work with us to develop this network. We will be sending more information as we get started. For more information, please visit our new website at the link below:
New Teacher Rural Teacher Corps
We have a new teacher group that meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month. If you know any new teachers who might benefit from working with their peers, share the New Teacher Rural Teacher Corps website with them.
Upcoming Events:
Feb. 15 @ 6:00 PM: Rural Teacher Corps Meeting (Buzzard 1302)
Feb. 16 @ 6:30 PM: New Teacher RTC Meeting via Zoom
Whether you have any questions to ask or stories to share, we'd love to hear from you!
