Proud Rural Teacher

Bellevue Iowa is a beautiful town in Northeast Iowa, tucked right along the upper Mississippi river. Bellevue high school serves just 365 in grades 6-12. Today you’re meeting Matt Jaeger, a teacher at Bellevue High School, to learn about Bellevue Big. Initially, I thought Bellevue Big was perhaps an alternative or charter school, but as I was researching for the interview, I realized that Bellevue Big is part of the high school’s course offerings for all juniors and seniors, and it inspires students to solve real problems and create something impactful from scratch. Physically, Bellevue Big is not at the High School, and that’s by design. Hm...I don’t want to steal any more of Matt’s thunder. As you’re listening, be thinking of how you could bring this back to your high school. There are lots of great ideas here!

Please visit www.proudruralteacherpodcast.com for photos, resources, and contact information.

Today you’re meeting Jessica Rettler, the 2022 Wisconsin Agriculture in the Classroom Outstanding Educator. Rettler is a fourth-grade educator at Tri-County Elementary School in Plainfield, Wisconsin. In this episode, Jessica will share several lesson ideas and resources on how teachers can connect with community assets and state and national organizations to create agriculturally engaging lessons. To see her extensive list of links and ideas, visit our website https://proudruralteacherpodcast.com/.

So today’s episode is a little different for me in that, even though I’ve already done the interview, I still feel I have a lot to learn about funding for public schools in Wisconsin. Back in the day, when I was teaching HS English, I didn’t think much at all about school funding. I had, for the most part, as far as I knew, what I needed to do my job. I certainly did not think about the bigger picture or how financial decisions made at the state level, might impact public education. I don’t think my experience is unusual. As the years have passed, I’ve grown to understand that funding public education is certainly a challenge that’s deeply impacting our rural schools. So in this episode, I’m honestly just asking questions about funding for public schools in Wisconsin. To kick off National Public Schools week, I’m introducing you to the executive director of the Wisconsin Public Education Network, Heather DuBois Bourenane. The interview itself is actually in two parts. Part 1 was just days before the Governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, released his proposed budget, and Part 2 was just days after. Heather will explain how funding in Wisconsin impacts public schools and how the Wisconsin Public Education Network is a strong advocate for public schools. If you’re new to learning about how public schools in Wisconsin are funded, this conversation will, hopefully, stir your mind to learn more. Be sure to check out the show notes for relevant links.

Do you want to learn more about how public schools are funded in Wisconsin?

Visit: https://www.wisconsinnetwork.org/

It’s no secret that Wisconsin is facing a teacher shortage. This episode features an alliance of rural schools in Wisconsin that have banded together to recruit and attract teachers. The school districts of Cambridge, Lodi, Sauk Prairie, and Wisconsin Heights were awarded a $264k Workforce Innovation Grant from the State of Wisconsin to implement a multi-layered approach to helping alleviate their workforce problem. In this episode, you’ll meet the DA from Wisco Heights, Dr. Jordan Sinz, MS/HS Principal and grant administrator, Elizabeth Dostal, and a grant recipient – student teacher and future agriculture and technology education teacher, Abby Kucken. In this episode, you’ll learn how these four districts created a multi-layered approach and how it’s already benefiting others. Districts like Cambridge, Lodi, Sauk Prairie, and Wisconsin Heights are setting a trend – competitive teacher recruitment needs to be part of your district’s hiring strategies. Listen to this episode to hear they created the GROW cooperative and be sure to check the show notes for links at https://proudruralteacherpodcast.com/.

Today you’re meeting a former student of mine, Cassie Miller and her colleague Matt Lansing from Maquoketa high school. Initially, I asked for this interview because I read a recent facebook post from Cassie’s singing the praises of their FFA alumni and the construction progress made on their new Ag learning center, but as the interview went on, I was blown-away, really, by the level of support and opportunity these two educators provide their students. Maquoketa High school is in eastern Iowa, approximately halfway between Dubuque to the north and Davenport to the South. The high school has just 620 students in 9-12th grade. The town itself is under 6k people. It’s a small, rural school, and yet...they move forward. This is a rural community with driven educators who have devoted time to create a robust agricultural education and FFA program, and their FFA Alumni not only share the same drive, but push to make it happen.

Click here for an excellent news segment celebrating the development of the Ag Learning Center.

You an also follow Maquoketa FFA on Facebook by clicking here.

Cassie Miller: [email protected]
Matt Lansing: [email protected]

Education in the Driftless Region offers a host of opportunity. This story is a prime example of educators who work hard, provide opportunity, and inspire community support. Maquoketa, Iowa -- what a proud, agricultural community!