The OHIO Rural Teacher Fellowship, a partnership between BB2C and Ohio University, empowers educators in Appalachian Ohio to lead Community and Career Connected Learning in their schools. Through mentorship, workshops, and a supportive cohort model, fellows design place-based projects that foster career exploration, connecting students to real people, places, and problems in their communities. This three-year fellowship builds teacher-leaders, strengthens local schools, and supports long-term community thriving.
The OHIO Eastern Rural Teacher Corps at Ohio University, a collaboration between Building Bridges to Careers (BB2C) and Ohio University Eastern, is part of the nationwide Rural Schools Collaborative Rural Teacher Corps Network. The OHIO Eastern Rural Teacher Corps focuses on preparing rural educators to implement Community and Career Connected Learning in their future classrooms.
OHIO Rural Teacher Fellows
OHIO Eastern Rural Teacher Corps participants
Rural teachers
Ohio University Rural Teacher Fellowship and Rural Teacher Corps: Program Essentials
Place-based training for classroom and districts
Professional development
Mentor collaboration
“This is how Community and Career Connected Learning becomes not just a project, but a community-wide movement.”
- Jennifer Buckler, OHIO Rural Teacher Fellow and teacher at Western Local Schools in Pike County, Ohio
“Joining the Rural Teacher Corps was a way for me to give back to the community that raised me, and I was inspired by the chance to help create a program that supports local schools. This experience has shown me that teaching in a rural community isn’t just about the curriculum; it’s about learning from the community as much as you teach within it.”
- Amelia Woolard, Rural Teacher Corps intern and student at Ohio University Eastern
Featured Stories
What We’re Learning So Far: RSC’s Rural Educator Ecosystem Community of Learners
One year into the Community of Learners Project, participants inspire and uplift Rural Teacher Corps efforts nationwide
Rural Educator Ecosystem: Community of Learners Launches at National Summit to Address Educator Shortage in Rural Communities
With generous support from ECMC Foundation and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, the initiative kicked off at the Rural Schools Collaborative Hub Summit in Minneapolis
Rural Futures Take Root in Latham, Ohio
At Western Local School District in Appalachian Ohio, Jennifer Buckler is helping students discover that meaningful careers, entrepreneurship, and leadership opportunities can grow right in the communities they call home
I Am A Rural Teacher: Crystal Barnett-Sheaves – Marietta, OH
Connecting classrooms, careers, and community
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