The GRAD Partnership for Advancing Student Success Systems: Rural Schools Cohort

About the GRAD Partnership

The GRAD Partnership brings together twelve organizations to partner with schools, districts, states, and local community organizations to create the conditions needed to bring the use of evidence-based student success systems from a new practice to a common practice. This national initiative encourages and supports schools in efforts to use high quality student success systems that empower schools to graduate all students ready for the future.

The GRAD Partnership aims to foster increased agency, belonging, and connectedness both in classrooms and within communities. Student success systems bring together the integration of actionable data, supportive relationships, and student-centered mindsets. By working collaboratively, student success systems enable schools to design and implement systematic approaches to address school-wide achievement patterns and meet individual student needs.

The GRAD Partnership brings together twelve organizations to partner with schools, districts, states, and local community organizations to implement student success systems.

Rural Schools Cohort

Rural Schools Collaborative facilitates the Rural Schools Cohort of the GRAD Partnership, convening Regional Hub partners who serve as Intermediaries between the GRAD Partnership and school districts. These Intermediaries play a critical role in the GRAD Partnership, recruiting schools to join, providing technical assistance on the implementation of student success systems, conducting data collection, fostering relationships between schools, and helping to shine a spotlight on the schools’ accomplishments.

GRAD Partnership Rural School Spotlight: Globe High School, AZ

At Globe High School in Arizona, a new GRAD Partnership school, history is still alive and being created every day.

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Rural Cohort Intermediaries:

Arizona Rural Schools Association (Cohort II)

The Arizona Rural Schools Association (RSC Arizona Regional Hub) joined the GRAD Partnership in 2024. Led by GRAD Partnership Coordinator and 2023 Rural Teacher of the Year Ty White, the Arizona Rural Schools Association supports ten unique Arizona schools on their journey to develop and enhance student success systems. The following schools make up the Arizona contingent of the GRAD Partnership Rural Cohort:

  • Chino Valley High School (Chino Valley, Az)

  • Dishchii'bikoh Community School (Cibecue, Az)

  • Duncan High School (Duncan, Az)

  • Globe High School (Globe, Az)

  • Hayden High School (Winkelman, Az)

  • Morenci High School (Morenci, Az)

  • San Simon School (San Simon, Az)

  • Theodore Roosevelt School (Ft. Apache, Az)

  • Valley Union High School (Elfrida, Az)

East Carolina University Rural Education Institute (Cohort II)

RSC Southeast Regional Hub partners at ECU’s Rural Education Institute have long been leaders in assisting schools throughout eastern North Carolina, and added to their network of support by joining the GRAD Partnership in 2024. The GRAD Parnership’s work with rural North Carolina schools is led by Jaqueline Allen, a retired school counselor and tireless advocate for the wellbeing of rural students. ECU works with the following ten schools:

  • Ayden-Grifton HS (Ayden, NC)

  • Farmville Central HS (Farmville, NC)

  • Greene Central HS (Snow Hill, NC)

  • JH Rose HS (Greenville, NC)

  • Kinston HS (Kinston, NC)

  • Martin County High School (Williamston, NC)

  • Northside HS (Pinetown, NC)

  • North Pitt HS (Bethel, NC)

  • Southside HS (Chocowinity, NC)

  • Southwest Edgecombe HS (Pinetops, NC)

Missouri State University Center for Rural Education (Cohort II)

Joining in 2024, Missouri State University’s (MSU) Center for Rural Education partners with ten schools across southwestern Missouri in RSC’s Missouri Regional Hub. Drs. Rhonda Bishop and Denise Cunningham, co-directors of the MSU Center for Rural Education, alongside MSU GRAD Partnership liaison Russ Brock, collaborate with the following schools on implementing student success systems in Missouri:

  • Alton (Alton, MO)

  • Cassville (Cassville, MO)

  • Couch (Myrtle, MO)

  • Eminence (Eminence, MO)

  • Fair Play (Fair Play, MO)

  • Humansville (Humansville, MO)

  • Lutie (Theodosia, MO)

  • McDonald County (Anderson, MO)

  • Pleasant Hope (Pleasant Hope, MO)

  • Shell Knob #78 (Shell Knob, MO)

North State Together (Cohort I)

Joining in 2022, RSC Northern California Regional Hub partners at North State Together have been working to increase student agency, belonging, and connectedness in far northern California for the past three years. Their work is led by Northern California Regional Hub Contact, GRAD Partnership Lead & RSC Board Member Susan Schroth. The following schools represent the North State GRAD Partnership group:

The University of West Alabama (Cohort I)

Annah Rogers, GRAD Partnership lead for RSC’s Black Belt Regional Hub at The University of West Alabama, leads the GRAD Partnership work in rural Alabama and Mississippi. The following schools have been working with the GRAD Partnership since 2021, pioneering new ways to provide critical support and set their students’ up for postsecondary success:

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