One angle for tackling the nationwide teacher shortage is the funding and implementation of teacher corps programs, which train educators in supportive cohorts to transition into teaching. Freda Calloway is one such graduate from the Arkansas Teacher Corps, which prioritizes placements in rural areas.

Freda now teaches English and Journalism in a rural high school in McGehee, Arkansas. We’d like to thank our partners at Rural Community Alliance and Arkansas Teacher Corps for jointly leading the Rural Schools Collaborative Arkansas & Delta Regional Hub, where Freda is based. I Am A Rural Teacher is a collaborative project between the Rural Schools Collaborative and the National Rural Education Association.