Our last thread that devolved into a sea of educational debate because one of our own is thinking about leaving education was a fascinating read. Something
@LouisianaDawg318 mentioned caught my eye and we began a private conversation that was extremely informative. So I want to start another educational thread to get some feedback on a topic close to my heart.
I have been in just about every type of school district at this point in my career. My current position is as an assistant principal at a rural school. I have taught in Clarke County and Walton County in Georgia as well as Knoxville and finally out in a rural county that is pretty unique. Education in a rural county is unlike anything I’ve seen before. While that laid back attitude can be comforting to be around at times, it permeates everything they do from academics to athletics. It is easily the most difficult job of my career and I had a few tough teaching gigs in Athens and Monroe.
There are 3 types of rural areas:
- Fringe (1-5 miles from a larger city)
- Distant (6-25 miles from a larger city)
- Remote (26+ miles from a larger city)
Believe it or not, the remote rural districts fare better because they tend to keep their talent home. Distant rural areas seem to struggle because they are close enough for a 35 minute drive to the major city and that tends to drain the teaching talent. I gave a speech at the beginning of the year to my teachers that we needed to develop a Moneyball approach to teaching. We couldn’t do things the way bigger districts did them for various reasons - we needed a unique approach that was going to work for us.
@LouisianaDawg318 mentioned his district has moved to a 4 day school week in an attempt to bring teaching talent in. He feels it’s working and has been a success so far but the data will determine that fate ultimately.
With that said, if you are in a rural area and your school/district is rather successful, what is it that makes you thrive? These types of areas typically struggle to attract the top teaching talent as they are farther away and don’t pay as well. How does your district lure that talent in?
Any discussion is greatly appreciated and if you would prefer to send me a private message, that works just as well.