Bemidji State Amikwiish Program Celebrates First Semester

On a sub-zero Minnesota morning, several high school students braved wind-swept country roads and traveled from various parts of the north country to a dome-shaped building on the scenic, lakeside campus of Bemidji State University in Bemidji, MN. These students were brought together by a novel course at Bemidji State, titled ‘Amikwiish,’ or ‘Beaver Lodge’ in Ojibwe, that provided dual-enrollment credits in the form of an Introduction to Education class at Bemidji State. This hybrid class, led by Dr. Kathrina O’Connell, was born out of the 2023-24 Catalyst Grant Initiative, which provided planning grants to institutions eager to launch Rural Teacher Corps. Rural Teacher Corps vary from program to program, but share in their intentionality to recruit, prepare, and retain rural educators and reduce barriers to accessing degrees or licensure in education.

This was a first of its kind course for Bemidji State, and provides opportunities for early recruitment of high schoolers who have an interest in becoming a teacher. In addition to learning about the principles of education, the students were paired with a teacher-mentor in their district, gaining firsthand experience to complement the weekly online learning. This early exposure is fundamental to career exploration, and for many built excitement about becoming a teacher in a rural school. “It's really fun! I never really got to understand (why teachers teach), but now I’m learning that this is what they go through and how much dedication this job takes,” shared Landon, of Badger, MN.

The course opened with an in-person gathering, which allowed students to build relationships within their cohort, meet their Bemidji State peer mentors, and feel more comfortable taking a collegiate course. As she created the course, Kathrina wanted “to build connections among students and create a positive and welcoming learning environment as we headed into an online learning space. Our first day together was quite magical as the students, none of whom knew each other beforehand, were frequently chatting and laughing.” All students noted that this differed significantly from previous online learning experiences, where they felt disconnected from their peers, the instructor, and the subject matter generally.

After a semester of learning, Kathrina wanted the group to come back together again for more community building, in-person reflection time, and a chance to learn more about practicing education in rural Minnesota’s unique cultural context. Dr. Mark Standing Eagle Baez, assistant professor of clinical and counseling psychology and Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation Member, gave a lesson on the importance of culturally responsive pedagogy. Dr. Baez shared stories from his work in psychology and community-building, offered examples of how the education system has harmed, not uplifted students’ unique cultural contexts, and what they can do as future educators to ensure that all students feel supported, cared for, and respected in their classrooms.

Being able to meet and hear from Dr. Baez was another important factor for Kathrina in creating an in-person experience to close out the course. The celebration was held in Bemidji State’s American Indian Resource Center, a newly-built building that serves, per Bemidji State, “as a place for everyone to learn and gather in the rich culture and tradition of the Anishinaabe people in our area and around the world.” This selection of venue was highly intentional: Kathrina shares that this was an “opportunity for students to meet Dr. Mark Baez and hear his message on Indigenous ways of knowing and building relationships with students. His presentation would not have been the same for our students in a virtual setting.”

As Dr. Baez spoke, and later as the students gathered to share their reflections on the course, it was easy to see why the BSU team, in consultation with indigenous leaders, chose the English moniker of ‘Beaver Lodge,’ or Ojibwe ‘Amikwiish,’ for the course. It wasn’t just the wooden rotunda enclosing the space, but the support they received along the way in their course journey. Two current BSU students, Addison and Julia, served as peer mentors for the high school students to check in weekly, help with assignments, and give vital windows into the college experience. “With online classes, it can be hard to find that connection. Meeting in person like this is an access point– they are able to see that this is real, people have done this, and they are not alone” offers Addison.

For most of the students, too, they didn’t come alone physically or figuratively to Bemidji. While parents drove a few, it was notable that Landon was driven over three hours to campus by his superintendent. Rural superintendents and school leaders serve many critical roles in small districts, and creating opportunities for their students like this is a microcosm of the value of schools to uplift rural students’ futures. Through observing and working with their in-school mentor teachers, students both explored teaching and laid an early foundation for teaching at schools they once attended. Landon, describes that the community support he received along the way to taking this course, for instance, helped propel him to a future in teaching: “Everybody said that I would make such a good teacher, and now I took this course, and I think I could do it, and would love to.”

The first-time course had a single-digit inaugural enrollment, with Kathrina noting that “if you don’t start small, you don’t start at all.” This attitude highlights the intention of the Catalyst Initiative Grant, which aimed to provide space and time to plan, dream, and look for additional funding to ensure the sustainability of Rural Teacher Corps programs. By all accounts, Bemidji State’s Amikwiish has been a success; students reported high course satisfaction, relationships with service-area districts were enhanced, and the program has already attracted additional funding. BSU has received two grants totalling $390,000 to continue the course for at least six more semesters, highlighting the importance of philanthropy to empower local leaders with the capacity to plan for place-specific programming.

This directly impacts local institutions like Bemidji State, local schools who will now have more talented, credentialed educators, and of course the future teachers themselves. Kathrina shared all of this with her students, helping them understand the broader ecosystem of education that as new teachers they will be stepping into. “I believe that the availability of resources is especially challenging for rural educators. Schools often have limited budgets so teachers may be using outdated technology or instructional materials for their instruction. However, there are many ways to acquire resources for students if teachers are willing to seek them out and administrators are supportive of the search and acquisition of resources.”

Kathrina knows this better than anyone; in 2019 as a 6th-grade teacher she was a Grants in Place awardee, before she came to Bemidji State to teach literacy education. Her project then sought to connect students with their local towns history and nature, practicing Place-Based Education through exploration and art. Part of the intention was to create pride of place for her rural students, a torch that she has carried to BSU and Amikwiish. While the focus then was on native local birds, today’s metaphor of the beaver lodge will encourage these students to foster their own supportive spaces for future students across northern Minnesota.

“I am so proud of my first group of students, for taking a leap of faith and joining me for a semester of learning... and for considering a career in education. I am also very proud of the Amikwiish team at BSU. We have been working for over a year to bring this equity-focused concurrent enrollment course to fruition in rural Minnesota.” With the first course completed, it’s another step towards bridging the gap between rural students and careers in teacher education. There is still a long way to go to ensure that all rural schools have enough well-trained and credentialed educators, but if you don’t start small, you don’t start at all.

Thank you to the Bemidji State University team for sharing their story. Special thanks to Dr. Kathrina O’Connell, who has served as the lead for RSC’s Catalyst Initiative Grant at Bemidji State University, for coordinating our visit.