organization profile
Rural Schools Collaborative
About Us
Rural Schools Collaborative was envisioned during an early summer 2014 planning meeting in St. Louis and incorporated as a 501-c-3 nonprofit later that year. RSC was formally launched in the spring of 2015 with its inaugural Grants in Place program.
The organization's mission is to build sustainable rural communities through a keen focus on place, teachers, and philanthropy. RSC's mission is realized through its signature efforts: Grants in Place, the Regional Hub Network and Rural Teacher Corps. Additionally, RSC collaborates with other national organizations on two other signature efforts: GRAD Partnership for Student Success and the I Am A Rural Teacher project.
The organization is governed by a volunteer board of directors and supported by a small professional staff.
Our Mission
Build sustainable rural communities through a keen focus on place, teachers, and philanthropy.
Who We Serve
Rural Schools Collaborative is a national organization that works with regional partners to coordinate grassroots work. These regional partnerships are organized through our Regional Hub Network structure. One of RSC's Regional Hubs is the Driftless Region Hub, anchored by the College of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Through this partnership, our grants, resources, and storytelling services are open to any rural school in Wisconsin.
Rural schools are defined as non-urban, non-metro, or fall under one of six categories of the National Center for Educational Statistics classification (you can confirm that your school is eligible by checking your Locale Number to match 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43 at nces.ed.gov.
- Grants in Place: The Grants in Place Program awards provide support to rural teachers for innovative Place-Based Education projects that connect their students to their local communities. The program empowers rural teacher-leaders, schools, and community partners to create and implement projects that address regional needs.
- Regional Hub Network: Regional Hubs are local education advocates who are rooted in their respective places. Hubs are led by a diverse group of rural-serving organizations, including higher education institutions, rural-serving nonprofits, and regional community foundations. The Regional Hub Network was established in 2017 as a flexible way to structure RSC’s partnerships. These organizations share stories, resources, and strategies to increase our collective impact on rural school communities.
- Rural Teacher Corps: Rural Schools Collaborative’s partners continue to strengthen intentional efforts to recruit, prepare, and retain rural teacher-leaders. This work is showcased in RSC’s Rural Teacher Corps network who are all working to address the teacher shortage and bolster rural schools and communities.
- GRAD Partnership for Student Success: The GRAD Partnership, led by the Everyone Graduates Center at Johns Hopkins University, brings together nine organizations to partner with schools to strengthen use of evidence-based student success systems. RSC is proud to support the GRAD Partnership with rural school cohorts from our Regional Hub Network partners.
- I Am A Rural Teacher Project: Rural teachers and schools are the heartbeat of their communities. That’s why, for more than seven years, Rural Schools Collaborative, the National Rural Education Association, and our regional partners have intentionally celebrated excellent rural teachers through the I Am A Rural Teacher project. These diverse stories highlight rural educator experiences of vocation, connection, and love of place.
