Arkansas & Delta

Rural Community Alliance

Rural Community Alliance is a state-wide community development organization that seeks to build thriving rural places through community organizing, coalition building, and youth empowerment. Candace Williams, the Executive Director of Rural Community Alliance serves as a primary contact for the Arkansas Delta Regional Hub.

The Rural Community Alliance (RCA) is a member-driven organization envisioning a just and thriving rural landscape that offers access to excellent education, economic opportunity, and a rewarding quality of life to all residents. RCA’s team and membership works to achieve this vision by enabling informed and organized residents to define the change they want, build collective power, and take action to improve their lives. The Rural Community Alliance shares leadership of the Arkansas and Delta Regional Hub with the Arkansas Teacher Corps.

While rural community organizing and rural youth empowerment are major pillars of the organization’s work, Rural Community Alliance supports other programming, including:

• Health outreach

• Cybersecurity training

• Dolly Parton Imagination Libraries

• Community schools

• Education policy and advocacy

Arkansas Teacher Corps

The Arkansas Teacher Corps is an alternative educator pathway program that provides teachers-to-be with the educational, leadership, and life skills needed to thrive in the classroom. Brandon Lucius, Executive Director of the Arkansas Teacher Corps, serves as a primary contact for the Arkansas Delta Regional Hub.

The Arkansas Teacher Corps (ATC) is an alternative teacher licensure program. ATC is a partnership between the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Department of Education, and Arkansas public schools to recruit, train, and sustain high-quality teacher-leaders in the state. Arkansas Teacher Corp shares leadership of the Arkansas and Delta Regional Hub with the Rural Community Alliance.

Through an intensive three-year, post-baccalaureate program, which includes a seven-week summer training program, ATC prepares cohorts of aspiring teachers with not only teaching skills, but also essential social-emotional and community leadership skills. Through the program, Arkansas schools will have the capacity to empower teachers and students as rigorous learners, resilient individuals, and responsive leaders.