This article discusses the Faculty Mentoring Cohort (FMC), a pilot program designed to bolster new faculty retention at St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM), a teaching-focused, public honors college in the rural southern Chesapeake region. The FMC matches two established faculty members with two newly hired instructors to create between five and…

Providing adequate supervision for pre-service teachers enrolled in special education field placements is a challenge. Rural placements often exacerbate this challenge due to the large geographical areas in which these placements are located. The purpose of this article is to describe one approach to early field supervision in rural settings that…

Mentoring programs are beneficial in northern or rural Canadian communities. Educators teaching in these areas often have higher demands placed upon them and encounter different challenges including higher workloads, a lack of personal and professional resources, and difficulties adjusting to life in isolated communities. Mentoring programs…

The Early Childhood Opportunity (EChO) Scholars project was designed to address the following significant needs in Maine: (a) prepare highly qualified early interventionists and early childhood special educators through distance education, (b) develop a system of support through a mentor network, (c) provide a graduate-level early childhood…

This article describes an innovative approach, developed by North Carolina State University, to prepare leaders specifically for work in rural schools in high poverty districts. Operating with Race-to-the-Top funding, the Northeast Leadership Academy is a selective program with embedded practice and focused summer community internships. The…

Early career teachers eager to find employment are often encouraged by employers to accept positions in remote locations which are traditionally difficult to staff. This paper reports research that examined a case study of a graduate teacher employed in a remote school. Drawing on resilience theory, we challenge the profession to consider whether…

When visitors step inside Pocomoke (MD) Middle School, they are immediately surrounded by a profound sense of pride and high expectations. Students are actively engaged in instruction, the classroom walls are covered with student work, and the halls are lined with pictures of students demonstrating success. Beanbag chairs await eager readers,…

"Peer mentoring,""peer coaching," and "colleagueship supervision" describe a process of professional improvement in which teachers assist other teachers in becoming more competent and innovative in the use of pedagogical skills. Recent evidence suggests that teachers feel the individuals most qualified to assist them…

Describes the Early Career Support Program (STEP) which uses the Montana Educational Telecommunication Network (METNET) to connect early career teachers in Montana with mentors. Contains 20 references. (DDR)

An outline is proposed for a tertiary course in rural studies for professionals such as teachers, nurses, and social workers that would better prepare them for rural service. The course could be an elective in general studies or give credit toward professional certification. Key components for effective rural preparation of professionals should be…

A beginning teacher assistance program involving regional seminars, a mentor training program, and peer group support produced positive results and reduced the isolation of new teachers in rural schools. (JD)

For many small rural school districts across America, the effort to attract and retain quality teachers continues to be a major concern. Schools located in what are considered to be "hard to staff" areas experience the most difficult. While not all communities face the problems of inadequate teacher supply, many small and rural school…

University training programs and public school systems must address the development of beginning teacher assistance programs which include the use of mentors. This paper describes Project RAISE (Rural America Institute for Special Educators), a masters level program that trains preservice and practicing special education teachers. This project…

Howe-To Industries is an intergenerational entrepreneurship project at the John de la Howe School, a state-supported institution for at-risk youth in rural McCormick County, South Carolina. Expansion of this type of program into public schools could engage the community and school system in a mutually beneficial relationship. John de la Howe…

This paper describes the Entry Year Assistance Program (EYAP), a mentoring program for novice teachers, offered by the School of Education at Chadron State College (Nebraska). The program supports beginning teachers who are geographically isolated in Nebraska's panhandle. A discussion of the theoretical basis for teacher mentoring includes…