Rural Thrive:

The Rural Educator Resilience Project

All rural educators deserve to thrive

A map of Maine showing connections between different communities.

Teacher Leader Support

Teacher leaders are educators who work full-time in the classroom and influence their school, district and the education profession in a positive way. They may or may not have formal leadership roles, and may or may not aspire to administrative roles or any role outside of the classroom. They are committed to working in their schools to improve the lives of their students and communities, and have largely done so without a network to specifically address their unique needs. With their participation and guidance, Rural Thrive is facilitating the building of a support network for teach leaders working in rural Maine.

Rural Teacher Leader Support Network

Teacher leaders are dedicated, passionate educators who face many challenges, especially in rural schools, including:

  • Diverse workloads in and beyond the classroom
  • Multi-grade and multi-subject responsibilities
  • Isolation from others in similar roles
  • Attracting, developing and retaining colleagues
  • Lack of continuity due to frequent administrative changes

Our Rural Teacher Leader Support Network is designed in collaboration with teacher leaders themselves to address each of these challenges.

The Rural Teacher Leader Support Network provides numerous opportunities for rural educators to connect with colleagues statewide, including:

  • Virtual and in-person collaborative discussion and problem-solving across districts
  • Purposeful, collective visits to rural schools with substitutes provided by Rural Thrive’s Rural Substitute Teaching and Innovation Corps (RuSTIC)
  • Professional development tailored to their expressed needs:
  • Leadership skills
  • Understanding of the change/growth process
  • Collaboration with administrators and students to build stronger learning and community 
  • Finding resources to support work and progress

Opportunities

Are you a teacher-leader? You SURE are, if you do the following:

  • Work full-time in a classroom
  • Step beyond your classroom to improve your school, district and/or the teaching profession in a positive way, with or without a formal role.

We have opportunities for YOU!

EHD 590: Leadership Growth in Rural Schools
Registration Closing on August 20, or when class is full
Only 3 spots left!

Leadership Growth in Rural Schools is a two-semester, 6-credit course, divided between virtual/synchronous, in-person and on-site support at your school. The course is a deep-dive into design thinking for teams or individual rural teachers, to conceive and develop a plan for implementing innovative practices and partnerships to support and deepen student engagement. The final product of this course will be an outline and action plan for an innovation, selected and designed by participants/teams. Individuals or school teams will identify a target population, examine current programming and systems/impacts, and develop an implementation plan for a specific innovative remote learning strategy, program or practice aimed at increasing student and community engagement. It will also help participants develop teacher-leadership skills, especially in rural schools. The intention of this 2-course series is to support teachers in the work that they want to do in their classrooms, schools, and/or communities. We encourage at least two people from a school to sign up, but you may also take the class as an individual.

  • Co-taught by Korah Soll, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Rural Aspirations Project, and Gert Nesin, Teacher Leader in Residence with Rural Thrive.
  • 6 credits over Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 Semesters.
  • Most class meetings take place online, with 1-2 days in-person each semester and a school visit by one of the instructors.
  • Registration and fees paid by Rural Thrive.

For registration questions, email Nikki Lewis, nikki.lewis@maine.edu. For questions about the course email korah@ruralaspirations.org or gert.nesin@maine.edu.

Discussions in Rural Innovation and Guided Observations (DIRIGO) Days

Gather at a rural school to observe classrooms, then meet to discuss what you learned and how it can be applied to your school and community.

  • There will be one DIRIGO Day per semester.
  • Virtual meetings (one hour each) will be held before and one after the DIRIGO Day gathering to help plan and debrief the experience.
  • Participants are eligible for a $300 stipend.

Contact: Gert Nesin, gert.nesin@maine.edu.

What I Need (WIN) Funds

Rural teachers in Maine are invited to submit applications for up to $2,500 in funding to help them to access professional development opportunities during the upcoming school year. Read the announcement on UMaine News and check out the WIN Funds page on our website for more details and a link to apply.

Contact us

Ready to learn more about the Rural Teacher Leader Support Network?

Send an email to Teacher Leader in Residence Gert Nesin, gert.nesin@maine.edu.