An Investment in Rural Education
A new partnership with MSU-West Plains cements the Ozarks Teacher Corps program in south-central Missouri
In 2009, the former educators who had moved into leadership roles at the Community Foundation of the Ozarks were seeing firsthand how rural schools and rural communities were mutually dependent for each other’s success.
They envisioned how to use the CFO’s philanthropic resources to strengthen rural education so schools could anchor and sustain their communities.
Out of that came the Rural Schools Partnership, which included the Ozarks Teacher Corps. Each year since 2010, two-year renewable OTC scholarships were awarded to eight to 10 teacher-education majors in return for their commitment to teach for at least three years in a rural district and participate in the learning network.
About 80 students have gone through the Ozarks Teacher Corps. Many have extended their rural teaching well beyond their three-year commitments. Several have moved into administrative roles. Their school districts and communities are stronger for their energy and passion for rural renewal.
As the Rural Schools Partnership approaches the 10-year mark, former CFO President, Dr. Gary Funk, and his colleagues Dr. Julie Leeth and Carol Silvey, have now expanded the concept across the Midwest and other areas of the country through the Rural Schools Collaborative.
Leeth, now semi-retired from the CFO while still working as the education/schools liaison, recognized that a hub of success for the OTC has been the Missouri State University-West Plains campus. Beginning this year, MSU-WP will administer the scholarship program on the CFO’s behalf.
“We are so excited to partner with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks to establish this scholarship program for students interested in entering the field of education,” MSU-WP Chancellor Shirley Lawler said.
“Many of our students are focused on obtaining a teaching degree, and they want to return to their hometowns to teach, which, in many cases, is a smaller, rural community,” she added.
MSU-WP is developing a curriculum to build a skill set specific to rural teachers that will include mentorships, innovative approaches, and on-site learning in rural districts.
“The CFO and the Ozarks Teacher Corps are thrilled to establish a formal partnership with MSU-West Plains to recruit and retain the finest teachers possible for the south-central region of Missouri,” Leeth said. “The scholarship will now be a four-year award and is made possible through the generous bequest of Chesley and Flora Lea Wallis.
“Furthermore, this alliance will mean a lot to the emerging rural teacher corps higher education network, which is growing with support from the Rural Schools Collaborative.”
Eight $1,100 scholarships will be awarded beginning with the 2019 fall semester. Students can apply through the Missouri State-West Plains financial aid office or online at wp.missouristate.edu/finaid. The application deadline is March 31.
For more information about the scholarship, call the financial aid office at (417) 255-7243 or visit wp.missouristate.edu/finaid.
For more information about CFO, the Rural Schools Partnership or the Ozarks Teacher Corps, visit: http://www.ruralschoolscollaborative.org/rural-schools-partnership-news/.
