SPRINGFIELD -- About 70% of Missouri's schools identify as rural, but there is no state-supported office or university-based center focused on rural school needs -- until now.
Missouri State University will open its new Center for Rural Education on June 9. Housed in the College of Education, the center will serve as a hub to organize and promote rural school outreach and partnerships. Diana Piccolo and Rhonda Bishop will lead the center as co-directors. Piccolo and Bishop work in the department of childhood education and family studies at MSU as professor and clinical assistant professor, respectively.
"The Center for Rural Education is the first center of its kind in Missouri. It will focus on establishing partnerships and programming to identify, prepare and support quality school professionals for all rural students and school districts across the state," Piccolo said.
The center's goals are to develop and sustain school and community partnerships, establish a teacher pipeline, retain and support rural teachers, and seek and secure external funding to promote research and advocacy.
For the first year, a few of the center's possible activities include establishing a consortium of rural schools, identifying and applying for relevant grants, research and share ideas for effective "grow-your-own" programs, and promoting dual credit opportunities for general education and teacher preparation courses.