Broadus will be once again host the Montana Rural Teacher Preparation Program, for the third year in a row. This fall, MSU-Bozeman students, under Dr. Jayne Downey will visit Broadus. The group of future educators will be here October 27-30th, during which they will observe local teachers and get a feel for life in a small town.
Here’s a little more on the program
Program Overview
Rural communities across the country are facing increased challenges in the recruitment and retention of qualified teachers for America’s rural schools (Showalter, Klein, & Lester, 2014; Barley & Brigham, 2008). According to Barley and Brigham (2008), offering practice-teaching opportunities in rural communities could help address the issue of teacher recruitment and retention in rural areas. However, few teacher education programs offer coordinated opportunities for rural clinical practice, especially in rural and remote settings. Thus, the CRRE faculty have set out to design, implement, and evaluate high quality, immersive rural clinical experiences for K-12 pre-service teachers enrolled at MSU.
The Rural Apprentice Program has developed sustainable partnerships with rural school districts across Montana whereby carefully selected MSU pre-service teachers will be placed in rural partner schools for their 1) early field experience, 2) practicum experience, and 3) student teaching experience. By creating a set of three immersive clinical experiences that expose pre-service teachers to the benefits of rural community living and small rural schools, we will increase the likelihood that teacher candidates will be well-prepared and ready to teach in rural schools, and thus, reduce the teacher shortage in rural areas by expanding the pool of candidates prepared and willing to teach in rural places.
Here are the bios on the visiting students:
Hi, my name is Emily Hutchens and I grew up in a suburb outside of Chicago, although I now live in Wisconsin and Montana of course. I am so excited to be in Broadus and experience the town, people and amazing education there. I myself am an Art Education Major, minoring in earth science teaching. I have always had a love for art and think it’s a very important program to keep in all schools. I spend my summers working at a summer camp, so I spend lots of time with kids, making my decision to become an educator very easy.
Hello! My name is Lexie Davis and I am a junior at Montana State University in Bozeman. I am studying to become a social studies teacher. I am originally from a small town, St. Helens, Oregon. My hometown is about 45 miles north of Portland, so I spent a lot of time in the city and on the river.
I love to take photos, play guitar, listen to music, and read. I also enjoy 4-H! My dad was a 4-H agent when I was growing up, so I have been in 4-H since I was 8. I currently work at the Montana State 4-H Center for Youth Development, and I love seeing how 4-H works on the state level. I am so excited to graduate next year and begin teaching, and I am looking forward to learning about teaching in Broadus! I hope to learn many things, but most importantly I am looking forward to interacting with students and watching them get excited about social studies and the things I am learning about.
My name is Briana Osborne. I was born and raised in Rockland County, New York. I spent my freshman year of college at the University of Hawaii, came to MSU as an exchange student the fall of my sophomore year, and officially transferred to MSU this year, as a junior. I’m studying Elementary Education with the hopes of becoming a kindergarten or first grade teacher. I’m the happiest around kids and I love working with them in active and hands-on environments. I currently work at a day-care in Bozeman which is a lot of fun! During my free time, I love to be outside, typically kayaking or hiking. I love arts and crafts, painting, and making jewelry. I’m super excited to visit Broadus and to learn from all the teachers and students there!
Donovan Rowe
I was born and raised in Montana and my love for nature and all things outdoors stem from that upbringing. My favorite books are The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, and The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner.
A few other things about me are that I was raised in Missoula county, I love to read just about anything and always have, I'm an avid skier, I am going to MSU to be an English teacher, and I have an Australian Shepherd named Thor. I am looking forward to learning so much during our week in Broadus!
Christine Gibbs
I am from Westby, MT and I am a fourth year Elementary Education major! I love reading, guitar playing, and walking my dog, Charley! I chose teaching as a career because it has always been one of my biggest passions. I always admired my teachers, but my middle school and high school math teacher was the one who made me want to pursue teaching. She always made her students feel safe to answer a question wrong and told us making mistakes is okay because then you get to grow. Much like my math teacher, I love the idea of creating a safe learning environment for my own students. I am very excited for my trip to Broadus because I know I have so much to learn and I believe this trip will help me to grow as an educator.
Hi! I’m Jayne Downey. I am a faculty member in the Dept. of Education at MSU and I serve as the Director of MSU’s Center for Research on Rural Education (CRRE). I am also an appreciative graduate of a rural school -- I grew up on a large grain farm and got to ride the bus every day to attend our community’s excellent K-12 school!
One of the key projects we’re working on right now is identifying how MSU can best recruit, prepare, and retain new teachers and administrators for work in rural schools and communities. That’s why I am really looking forward bringing 5 of MSU’s pre-service teachers to Broadus this Fall. This is an outstanding opportunity for our pre-service teachers to get to know you and the Broadus community, experience what it’s like to be a rural teacher, build some of their teaching knowledge and skills, and consider the possibility of becoming a rural teacher in Montana in the days ahead. Thanks for your partnership in this important, ground-breaking project!
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