Teacher Profile: Stacey Moser, OR

RSC and NREA are excited to be able to continue sharing the stories of rural teachers from across the United States as part of our I Am A Rural Teacher collaboration, made possible by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

For many, teaching is not their first career but a new frontier to explore after spending many years in another field. After 19 years of government work, Stacey Moser hit the trail to becoming a teacher at a two-room school in Fields, Oregon. Stacey shares that her life of ranching and teaching has been the most enriching journey she’s had so far.

Once Stacey set a course for education, teaching in a rural place was never a question. Her recreational hiking experiences in rural areas of Oregon with a friend, and later her relocation to a rural place, were the driving motivators behind her career change.

Fields, Oregon, is certainly small, even compared with other places we’ve written about. Stacey shares that about 10 people live in this rural community, with children coming from the surrounding areas to create a total student body of eight children, K-12. This creates interesting challenges as far as transportation and individual education needs.

The culture in Fields is strongly tied to the land, and many established families have been ranching for generations - including the family Stacey married into. This history is present not just in how Stacey teaches her students, but how they shape their own education experiences.

We appreciate the willingness of teachers like Susan to share their stories and experiences with us and hope these stories bring some inspiration to your day! If you would like to share 30 minutes of your time for an interview, please reach out to us at info@ruralschoolscollaborative.org.