Teach Rural Oregon Joins GRAD Partnership Rural Cohort

Eastern Oregon University, which is Oregon’s dedicated Rural University, began as a teachers college nearly 100 years ago and remains a leader in supporting learning across the state today. One standout program, Teach Rural Oregon, is a project led by the Eastern Oregon University (EOU) College of Education that recruits aspiring educators to complete their student teaching in rural and isolated districts across Oregon. Now, EOU and Teach Rural Oregon have joined the GRAD Partnership, furthering their support for strengthening rural education throughout Oregon. Teach Rural Oregon will use the 2025-26 school year to plan, recruit, and build capacity before beginning working with schools in the fall of 2026.

Teach Rural Oregon will be the first Intermediary organization representing the GRAD Partnership in Oregon, bringing the national collaborative project to the Beaver State. Composed of 12 leaders in education, including Rural Schools Collaborative, the GRAD Partnership collaborates with states, local Intermediaries, communities, districts, and schools to establish sustainable, high-quality student success systems across the nation. Student success systems center relationships, actionable data, and evidence-based practices to help schools strengthen a sense of belonging and school connection among students, address school-wide achievement patterns, and meet individual student needs.

Dave Dallas, RSC’s Oregon Hub lead and Director of Teach Rural Oregon, will spearhead the initial efforts to recruit and grow the cohort of participating Oregon schools and districts. For Dallas, the GRAD Partnership’s goals of reducing chronic absenteeism through building upon the positive assets already in schools makes this a natural fit: “School districts in many rural parts of Oregon, particularly since the pandemic, are facing serious issues including high absentee rates, and low post-secondary degree attainment among students. The student success system framework will empower school leaders in Oregon to gain the tools and leverage resources to meet the needs of all students.”

Teach Rural Oregon will join RSC’s GRAD Partnership Rural Cohort, a collaborative community of practice of other Intermediaries from across RSC’s Regional Hub Network. These include the East Carolina University Rural Education Institute, the Missouri State University Center for Rural Education, The University of West Alabama, Arizona Rural Schools Association, and North State Together (CA). GRAD Partnership leaders from each of these institutions form a professional learning community that shares best practices, celebrates achievements within their respective schools, brainstorms creative opportunities for student engagement, and much more.

Annah Rogers, who has served as the University of West Alabama’s GRAD Partnership Black Belt lead since 2022, has seen up-close the impact that student success systems can have on rural schools. “It is exciting to see the GRAD Partnership expanding yet again! This allows for a new group of rural students to experience what school can feel like when adults make relationships a priority, operate with student centered mindsets, and focus on actionable data. In GRAD Partnership schools, students are feeling more connected than ever, which encourages them to come to school and be active participants in their education.”

Now in its third year, the GRAD Partnership has proved the value of student success systems in offsetting pandemic achievement setbacks, including reducing chronic absenteeism and course failures. Per the Year Two Impact report, which can be seen in full here, participating schools that began collecting data in 2022-23 and continued to implement student success systems in 2023-24, saw the following outcomes:

● The average chronic absenteeism rate declined from 29% to 21% over two years, a 28% Reduction

● The average course failure rate declined from 31% to 20% over two years, a 32% reduction

And in ninth-grade classrooms, where early intervention is especially critical, results also showed meaningful improvement:

● The average ninth-grade chronic absenteeism rate declined from 31% to 26% over two years, a 14% reduction

● The average ninth-grade course failure rate declined from 32% to 22% over two years, a 31% reduction

Dallas, who has been working to deepen student success work in Oregon for several years, sees the GRAD Partnership’s impact as encouraging news for the students in Oregon who are most at risk of either not graduating or finishing school without a pathway in place: “Our original goal with Teach Rural Oregon was to recruit teachers into rural parts of Oregon. As our mission evolves and matures, we also want to make sure that students are in school and have the tools and resources they need in order to further their education beyond high school, be it in the trades, community colleges, or in higher education.”

As Teach Rural Oregon prepares to identify both additional Intermediary partners and school districts, there is palpable excitement as the GRAD Partnership continues to grow. “We are thrilled to welcome Teach Rural Oregon as the newest GRAD Partnership Intermediary. Intermediaries are vital to our goals of ensuring all students have the support they need to graduate on a pathway to adult success. Because Intermediaries are trusted local partners with strong ties to their community, they are well positioned to catalyze adoption of student success systems. Teach Rural Oregon brings a wealth of deep connections and local expertise, and will be a valued partner in the national movement for student success” said Patricia Balana, GRAD Partnership Manager Director.

Taylor McCabe-Juhnke, RSC Executive Director, echoes that excitement, noting that “Eastern Oregon University is well-positioned to excel as an Intermediary organization. Through programs like Teach Rural Oregon, EOU shines when collaborating with local and regional partners to drive meaningful change for Oregon schools, teachers, and students.” Engaging with schools, too, will deepen EOU’s relationship with their partner districts, further strengthening the education ecosystems across rural Oregon. As the work to grow student success systems spreads in Oregon, one thing is certain: communities, schools, and students have a reason to celebrate.