West Plains High School (Missouri) Teachers Receive Grant from the Rural Schools Collaborative and Community Foundation of the Ozarks

A Town's History Gives Purpose to Students' Learning

November 23, 2015 |
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Left to right: West Plains H.S. teachers Michelle Henderson, Joni Joyce, Janet Rackley, Rural Schools Collaborative board member Carol Silvey, teachers Nancy Spoor and Lane Schilmoeller. Not pictured is teacher, Tina Joliff.

West Plains High School (Missouri) Teachers Receive Grant from the Rural Schools Collaborative and Community Foundation of the Ozarks

The Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC) and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) recognized six West Plains High School teachers for receiving a grant through RSC’s inaugural Grants in Place program. RSC, CFO, and several individual donors provided funds for the grant award. CFO’s participation in the grant program is in conjunction with its Rural Schools Partnership effort.

West Plains High School Success in Reading teachers Michelle Henderson, Joni Joyce, Janet Rackley, Nancy Spoor, Lane Schilmoeller, and Tina Joliff were awarded a $700 grant to facilitate a cross-curricular project, which will culminate in a walking tour pamphlet of historic buildings around the West Plains town square. Engaging students in a community’s history and promoting that history to visitors is a perfect example of what place-based education is all about. RSC’s Grants in Place effort is dedicated to promoting place-based learning and community-centered instruction.

Carol Silvey, Rural Schools Collaborative board member and Community Foundation of the Ozarks Senior Associate for Advancement, presented a Grants in Place poster award to the teachers at a recent recognition event. Silvey manages CFO’s regional office in West Plains and is a lifelong resident of the area.

The Rural Schools Collaborative was organized in 2014 and launched in April 2015. RSC believes that community-based instruction, thoughtful collaboration, and targeted philanthropy strengthen the fabric of rural places. Its Grants in Place program is funding 35 innovative projects in seven states. The Community Foundation of the Ozarks and its key programs, the Rural Schools Partnership and Ozarks Teacher Corps, are founding partners of RSC.

The Rural Schools Collaborative is currently engaged in eight states with an administrative office in Cambridge, Wisconsin.

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