Four students in Missouri State University’s College of Education were selected to join the Ozarks Teacher Corps, a scholarship program created by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
With this award, students can return to their rural hometown or another rural setting to begin their teaching careers.
Joining a rural initiative
When accepted into the Teacher Corps, students commit to three years of teaching in any rural hometown post-graduation. The Teacher Corps scholarship enables students to continue their degree without financial pressure.
The application and scholarship are open to all college juniors and seniors in the region.
The Teacher Corps also offers professional development opportunities for the cohort, the latest of which was with Teton Science Schools in Montauk State Park.
The latest scholarship recipients from MSU are:
- Cierra Parker, a junior elementary education major
- Brooke Crumm, a senior elementary education major
- Grace Reed, a senior elementary education major at the West Plains campus
- Jordyn Sigman, a junior elementary education major at the West Plains campus
Crumm began at Missouri State in fall 2023 after gaining her Associate of Arts in teacher education at Ozarks Technical Community College. She is originally from Marshfield, Missouri.
For Crumm, this is a personal gain as much as it is a professional one.
“Returning home to teach is something I’m looking forward to because I understand the specific needs and culture of my community,” she said. “I want to give back to the community that shaped who I am today.”
The importance of rural education
Dr. Rhonda Bishop, co-director for the Center for Rural Education at Missouri State explained the importance of the program to communities.
“The schools are the hub of the communities,” she said. “The impact teachers have on the parents and children they serve is incredibly powerful.”
She described her own admiration for the students who wish to return to rural schools to teach.
“I graduated from a rural high school and was a public educator in rural schools for 29 years,” she said. “To know we’re sending some of the best into rural situations is what makes me the proudest.”