The U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) Program is pleased to announce an upcoming webinar with two i3 grantees working to improve achievement in rural high schools-the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP) and the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model of school improvement. With approximately 30 percent of our nation’s 50+ million students attending rural and small town schools, the i3 Program has prioritized research and innovation in rural education. Of concern nationally, rural youth do not perform as well on math and reading achievement tests as their suburban peers, and are less likely to attend college.
In response to challenges such as these, RMEP and BARR use two different approaches to improve achievement and educational attainment-related outcomes for rural high school students:
RMEP seeks to create a model of shared responsibility for schools in high-poverty rural environments that historically have undervalued mathematics as a requirement for future workforce and life success.
BARR increases student achievement by improving a school’s effectiveness at building relationships, leveraging real-time student data, and capitalizing on the strengths of each student through the implementation of eight key strategies.
Presenters will comment on the following questions, based upon their experiences:
What strategies support teachers, administrators, and the community when implementing new, innovative practices in rural high schools?
How do innovative practices evolve in a rural setting, from start-up to scaling across multiple states?
How can rural practitioners successfully partner with the research community to support innovation and scaling?
Presenters will include:
Hobart Harmon (RMEP) – Project Director of the Rural Math Excel Partnership
Todd Meinhard (RMEP) – Algebra II Teacher, Cumberland County High School, Virginia
Susan Savell (BARR) – Co-Director of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks Program
Jim Boothby (BARR) – Superintendent, Bucksport School District, to explain how the model has affected his rural school in Maine.