Rural Thrive

The Challenge

Educator retention remains a significant challenge across Maine, particularly in rural areas. Retention is important because it is already difficult to recruit new teachers to rural Maine, with only 30% of pre-service teacher candidates indicating that they would consider teaching in a rural area. While there are many benefits to teaching in rural environments, such as access to the natural environment and smaller class sizes, rural teachers often face challenges that can erode long-term desire to teach there such as long commutes, difficulty finding housing, challenges integrating into the community, and professional isolation. Furthermore, many Maine educators indicate that they experience secondary stress as a result of working with children whose health and emotional needs are being under-served by the state’s rural health system. 

Research has shown that mentoring and support networks can enhance teacher resilience and job satisfaction, which are essential for reducing attrition. However, we currently lack a clear understanding of what specific supports are needed by educators at different career stages to establish effective mentorship and support networks in rural settings. Furthermore, while rural areas often share common challenges, the solutions are often place-based and a result of the unique array of assets and advantages available to each community. Therefore, it is essential that program development happen in concert with Maine teachers, school leaders, and educator preparation programs.