Center for Rural Education

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 opened its new Center for Rural Education June 9, 2023. Housed in the College of Education, the center will serve as a hub to organize and promote rural school outreach and partnerships.

Center for Rural Education grand openinig

Dr. Diana Piccolo and Dr. Rhonda Bishop will lead the center as co-directors. Piccolo and Bishop work in the School of Teaching, Learning and Developmental Sciences at MSU as professor and clinical assistant professor, respectively.

Dr. Diana Piccolo and Dr. Rhonda Bishop

The center’s goals

The center has four goals:

• Develop and sustain school and community partnerships.
• Establish a teacher pipeline.
• Retain and support rural teachers.
• Seek and secure external funding to promote research and advocacy.

For the first year, a few of the center’s possible activities include:

• Establish a consortium of rural schools.
• Identify and apply for relevant grants.
• Research and share ideas for effective “grow your own” programs.
• Promote dual credit opportunities for general education and teacher preparation courses.

Person item component: dpiccolo@missouristate.edu

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Person item component: rhondabishop@missouristate.edu

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Person item component: mariangreen@missouristate.edu

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MSU Blog

Ky3 Post

Missouri Net Radio

Rural Schools Collaborative - BearsTeach

Rural Schools Collaborative - Summit

Springfield Business Journal