Lisa Furlong - Ukiah, CA

From a young age, Lisa Furlong knew she would become a teacher one day. Growing up she worked as the “teacher’s helper” in her kindergarten class, even signing her name as “Ms. Lisa” on papers. As someone who loves learning and helping others learn new skills, Lisa has been a K-12 educator and most recently an instructor for Business and Management at Mendocino College in Ukiah, CA. Mendocino County, about 150 miles north of San Francisco, is where Lisa planted her roots because “when you're in a small town, you are not just a community, you're a family.”

Lisa earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies at California State University, Fullerton, determined to become a teacher, even while studying a few other topics. “I went to college, and I was set on being a teacher. I took a few classes in business because my dad always said, ‘You're not going to make any money being a teacher,’ and I always replied ‘I know', but I knew it was something I would be good at doing." After taking a few classes in general business, Lisa focused on becoming a teacher. “When I started on the track to become a teacher, I just began to thrive, and I went for it.”

After graduating, the competition for teaching jobs made it very difficult to find employment, so Lisa started substitute teaching. “I lived close to Los Angeles and a lot of people were graduating from the local colleges. Many of these recent graduates also wanted to be teachers.” It was harder to find a job at the time, and passing all of the tests to get the multiple subject credential also posed a threat to her lifelong dream. This made it challenging for her to get a full time job teaching. “I was kind of at a stage in my life, and I just didn't fully commit to the job.” It was at that point that Lisa doubted her fate of being a teacher. “It didn't really work out where I could find a job, and it wasn't the time for me to be a teacher, so I went into other jobs.”

Lisa started working for the business industry, doing marketing, and really enjoyed the work. This led Lisa to get her MBA in business and marketing because she liked to learn and be creative. Going back to school reminded her of her interest in education and learning, so she continued to dream about being a teacher. However, this time her focus shifted from elementary education to college level teaching. After graduating, she began looking for jobs in marketing and business because that is what she was studying in school, and she needed to gain more experience.

Growing up in a small suburban town right outside of Los Angeles, Lisa was drawn to Northern California to plant her roots. “I was looking to move to Northern California because I didn't like living where there was so much traffic and a lot of people. I loved Northern California because I lived in San Francisco for a short time, and I just felt I belonged there. I knew that's where I wanted to be.” With a passion for teaching and education she knew one thing was a must when looking for the perfect area to live: “I know I want to live near a college, because I knew education was my thing, and colleges are important to me.”

Lisa began looking for jobs in marketing and business. While doing a job search she was confronted by her partner who asked, “why are you wasting your time on all these boring jobs? What is something you have practiced and focused on for your entire life? What is something you always hoped to become?” This led her to follow her dreams of being a teacher and she applied to two teaching jobs. “I was offered both jobs, so I had to make the decision. I thought about it for a week. One of the jobs was at a really tiny charter school teaching kindergarten and the other job was in Mendocino County, and it was a fifth grade class.” Thinking of teaching fifth grade was terrifying for Lisa, but with a nudge from her partner she decided to take the plunge and “it was great!”.

Lisa started teaching fifth grade in Ukiah, which has a population of about 20,000 people. When she was teaching, she taught first grade for summer school as well. “While I was teaching there, I really thought to myself, I love this job, I never want to leave.” In 2019, she was accepted to the University of San Francisco in order to pursue her doctorate in organizational leadership to help her reach her goal of teaching college.

After the COVID pandemic in 2020, Lisa was again confronted with a big decision that helped her to move further along in her career path. “I wasn't even looking for a job when I saw a posting about a job opening as an Education Director at a local Boys and Girls Club at Coyote Valley. The post caught her attention, so she applied. “I wasn’t sure they would allow me to apply because I wasn’t Native American, so I called to ask and they told me it was open for anyone. I ended up getting the job, and working there for over a year. It was a challenging job, but I learned so much. I gained a lot of friendships, but I also came to realize the importance of community and family. After a year, I decided I needed to support my own community and family.”

The next year, a kindergarten teaching position opened up at Potter Valley Elementary. Potter Valley is a small rural school in Mendocino County. The school teaches K through 12 with about 275 students total. “I applied because I wanted to send my son there, and they didn’t have a kindergarten teacher. I also knew it's really hard for rural schools to find teachers.” Lisa ended up teaching her son’s kindergarten class that year and gained a deeper understanding of the needs in her community. Teaching kindergarten was a different experience for Lisa to see as an outsider, who is not from a rural area, but as someone who is a big part of the education community. “I've seen a lot of differences between rural and urban schools, and I see some injustices. I really think education is the answer to a lot of problems, and I think it's so important to make it accessible for everyone.”

Now working on her dissertation, Lisa is focusing on providing learning opportunities for students and her community. “I teach business. I'm working hard to connect with the community more by reaching out to the local libraries offering to teach business soft skills workshops in different rural areas around the county. The workshops are geared towards teaching high school students, and people who are trying to get back into the workforce.” Lisa hopes to help students gain workforce-readiness skills, making sure that they're prepared to explore careers and find a job. “I'm learning that poverty is a huge issue in rural areas because people aren't able to find jobs that are sustainable, and local business owners aren't able to find qualified and capable employees. School districts and government run businesses are also struggling to find staff with the necessary qualifications. It’s important for rural educational institutions to work with the community to train and support employees to help businesses thrive, and in order to support economic development in the community.”

Lisa’s advice for new rural teachers is to keep going. “Teaching is a challenging job no matter where you work, but it's worth it. Consistency, and structure, while maintaining rigor provides students with an environment that allows them to thrive. The students are worth the effort and hard work, and you are making an impact every day, even if you don't see it. Focus on what you can change, and don't get too discouraged by what you can't.”

Thank you to Lisa Furlong for sharing her rural teacher story with Rural Schools Collaborative. Want to share your story as a rural educator? Fill out our online submission form here.