Center for Midwestern Initiatives

Supporters Form Valley Springs Foundation

Details: Last Updated on May 15, 2012; Written by CMI Staff

Eleven people have come together to form the Valley Springs Foundation, whose purpose is to provide financial resources and support to enrich and enhance the quality of education for all Valley Springs School students and enrich the quality of life in the Valley Springs community.

On Tuesday evening, April 24, the group met to officially constitute themselves as a board, approve bylaws, elect officers, set dates for future meetings, appoint members to a Fund Development Committee and a Communications Committee, and approve the signing of a fund document for Community Foundation of the Ozarks of Springfield, MO, to house and invest the funds generated by the newly formed foundation. The collaboration with Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) is enabled by the relationship between Rural Community Alliance and its Valley Springs chapter, the Rural School and Community Trust, and CFO.

Board members of the Valley Springs Foundation are Rodney Arnold, Betsy Cash, Karena DeYoung, Lavina Grandon, Sarah Hough, Rachel Norton, Wes Phifer, Sarita Sisco, Janet Thomason, Judy White, and Faye Yarbrough. Ex Officio members are Charles and Sandra Trammell.

Global Fellowship Bridge to the World for Missouri Teacher

Details: Last Updated on May 10, 2012; Written by CMI Staff

7006921218 03809c495e_b Pictured is fourth grade teacher Jennie Young of Mendon, Missouri.Mendon, Missouri. Population 208. To paraphrase East Nashville-based folk singer, Todd Snider, “There’s a post office, fire station, ag business, a school; and that’s the whole darn town.” But this would be the assessment of the casual observer, and a closer inspection will reveal a vigorous small community, a strong rural school district, and a highly respected and adventurous fourth grade teacher.

Jennie Young has taught school in Mendon at Northwestern R-1 for 13 years. Almost every day she and her students walk by or exercise in a gymnasium where she had played high school basketball and watched her own children do the same. Young’s personal continuity can be found throughout the school. The superintendent has been with the district for 26 years; the kindergarten teacher has taught for 24. Young introduces visitors to the English teacher, third grade teacher, and school secretary, who have all been with the district for at least two decades.

“Many of the teachers are locals,” she adds. “They are really connected to the kids and the community.”

This degree of tenure is rare in small rural schools (Northwestern R-1 has 209 students, K-12), and the resulting stability creates a school climate rich in trust, support, and rootedness. Administrative and faculty turnover is one of thornier challenges facing many small rural school districts. In Mendon, however, a surprisingly familial environment is sensed quickly.

Young embraces the school’s strong sense of place, but she is not one to simply stay put. “I wouldn’t change where I live for anything,” she said, “but I do like to go;” and it is her commitment to students and her personal desire to keep learning that motivated Young to explore opportunities for summer travel grants. “I received a tip from a colleague to check out The Rural School and Community Trust, and I decided to apply for a Global Teaching Fellowship,” she said.