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

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.