Meet the 2025-26 Emergent Educators Advisory Council
RSC is thrilled to announce the newest cohort of Emergent Educators Advisory Council.
Rural Schools Collaborative is thrilled to welcome the 2025-2026 cohort of the Emergent Educators Advisory Council (EEAC). This is a collaborative group of nine rural educators, each in their first three years of credentialed classroom teaching. All nine council members are graduates of Rural Teacher Corps programs within RSC’s Rural Educator Ecosystem: Community of Learners project.
During their year on the council, members will advise RSC, drawing upon their diverse experiences as both participants in their respective Rural Teacher Corps and as practicing classroom teacher leaders. Coming from nine different states, the group brings a wealth of knowledge that is essential to RSC’s rural teacher advocacy. In a time where teacher voice is more important than ever, platforms like the EEAC are essential to elevating the ideas and perspectives of educators.
Council members also receive professional development focused around practicing Place-Based Education and developing their skills in grant-writing. Place-Based Education is a powerful tool to root learning within the community, connecting students to their local environment, community, and culture. Through feeling comfortable and confident in grant-writing, teachers are empowered to pursue funding to support inspirational projects and to gain materials or provide experiences for their students.
As they learn and share, the cohort will develop as a community of new educators who share a common set of experiences and challenges, despite their geographic differences. Professional networks combat professional isolation, which can be particularly challenging for rural teachers in isolated communities. Killian Sump, a rural teacher from Oregon, shares that he is excited about “getting the chance to collaborate with peers on curriculum and pedagogy, and using the support of our council to help brainstorm solutions for the unique challenges that are bound to come up.”
RSC welcomes Abbie Johnson (Carthage, IL), BJ Cross (Cascade, MT), Jacob Jelesiewicz (Evanston, WY), Kaylee Whitaker (Letcher, KY), Kelly Pemrick (Estes Park, CO), Killian Sump (Camp Sherman, OR), Marquita Holmes (Forrest City, AR), Molly Brasher (Baldwin County, AL), Nicole Cooper (Waynesville, MO) as they join three returning members from the 2024-25 council: Bethany Schnetzler, Logan Mackenzie, and Betty Jones. Bethany, Betty, and Logan will continue to share their experiences, support new council members, while also assisting Rural Schools Collaborative on special projects throughout the year.
As the council kicks off, members share in their excitement of getting started. Nicole Cooper, a rural teacher of Waynesville, MO, puts it best when she shares that “I am so thankful to have been placed on the Emergent Educators Advisory Council this year and I cannot wait to get the opportunity to meet, learn from, and receive new knowledge from everyone on the council to help grow as an educator and advocate for rural teaching!”