Proud Rural Teacher

Decorah, Iowa is a beautiful town, rich with connections to water and the land. Decorah is in NE Iowa just west of the Mississippi, right on the edge of the Driftless region. The Upper Iowa River snakes thru town, and over time the residents have embraced this geographical feature. Over the summer, I traveled to Decorah for a workshop and noted the historical charm, appreciation for outdoor recreation, how they’ve adjusted to living along the river. In this episode, you’re meeting Zach Fromm, Instructional Coach, from the Decorah School District. The work in the Decorah school district is quite commendable as they leverage community resources and experts to create comprehensive interdisciplinary experiences that impact their students for years to come. I’m hoping you’ll listen to this episode and wonder how you can replicate this type of learning back where you’re from. 

Relevant Links:

Zach's contact information:

Twitter: @Zachfromm1
[email protected]

Reference Links from the Episode:

• Iowa REAP
• Winneshiek County Conservation
• A Long Walk to Water
• Vesterheim Museum
• City of Decorah Staff
• Information about “The Cut” 
• Winneshiek County Historic Preservation Commission
• Decorah Middle School’s “Water to Thrive” Efforts

If you’ve ever wanted to ponder ways to connect students with the great outdoors and environmental education, stay tuned. This will be quite a treat. Today you’re meeting Megan Barnett Schimek a HS science teacher from Pine Island, Minnesota and Jessie Barnett, a student-based faculty member in public health at the University of Minnesota Rochester. Their collaborative spirit and commitment to environmental awareness, public health, and place-based education is commendable. Today you’ll learn about the collaborative partnership between their students -- it’s quite an impactful experience.

For relevant links and details, please visit http:/www.proudruralteacherpodcast.com.

Today we're going back to the flooding of Coon Valley in 2018. The area endured over 12 inches of rain in just a few days. To complicated matters, multiple dams broke in already saturated areas. The evening of August 27th was unforgettable as residents were awoken in the middle of the night to evacuate. Emergency management performed over 350 rescues and 46 roads were closed in just Vernon county. Farms, business, homes, community spaces, and roads were devastated. The students in today’s episode were all old enough to remember that night and no doubt, it left an impact. So when Erica Manix, 4th grade teacher at Coon Valley elementary, posed a “driving question” - how to prevent flooding in Coon Valley? The students were motivated and engaged because this opportunity hit home. Students conducted research, leaned on community experts, used their own experience to understand the complexity of the event and consider proactive ways to prevent future flooding.

Consult our show notes at http://www.proudruralteacher.com.

If you live in the Driftless, you’ve certainly heard of Frank Lloyd Wright and maybe even, prairie style architecture. You can see evidence of his work throughout southern Wisconsin in cities like Madison and Milwaukee, but one of the most historically significant locations is in Spring Green, Wisconsin. There you’ll find Taliesin, Frank Lloyd Wright’s home, studio, and garden sanctuary. In today’s episode you’re meeting Caroline Hamlen, director of programs for Taliesin Preservation. They provide extensive outreach to bring the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and the concept of organic architecture to our local schools. It’s a great example of helping kids understand their sense of place in the Driftless.

Website: https://www.taliesinpreservation.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/taliesinwi

Today I’m speaking with Terri Anderson, 1st grade teacher at Tower Rock elementary school in the Sauk Prairie School District in Wisconsin. With just 220 students, Tower Rock has served a rural farming community, and Agriculture continues to be part of the fabric of this school. Today, Terri is going to share with you lots of examples of how the educators at Tower Rock Elementary school provide hands-on, interdisciplinary learning through relevant lenses like agriculture and local geography with consistent and deep connection to their community. Their work truly exemplifies what it means to provide place-based education. So, as you’re listening today, be thinking of how you might be able to apply this type of learning in your classroom.

Be sure to visit our detailed show notes at http://www.proudruralteacherpodcast. 

Today you’re meeting a former student of mine, Cassie Miller and her colleague Matt Lansing from Maquoketa high school. Initially, I asked for this interview because I read a recent facebook post from Cassie’s singing the praises of their FFA alumni and the construction progress made on their new Ag learning center, but as the interview went on, I was blown-away, really, by the level of support and opportunity these two educators provide their students. Maquoketa High school is in eastern Iowa, approximately halfway between Dubuque to the north and Davenport to the South. The high school has just 620 students in 9-12th grade. The town itself is under 6k people. It’s a small, rural school, and yet...they move forward. This is a rural community with driven educators who have devoted time to create a robust agricultural education and FFA program, and their FFA Alumni not only share the same drive, but push to make it happen.

Click here for an excellent news segment celebrating the development of the Ag Learning Center.

You an also follow Maquoketa FFA on Facebook by clicking here.

Cassie Miller: [email protected]
Matt Lansing: [email protected]

Education in the Driftless Region offers a host of opportunity. This story is a prime example of educators who work hard, provide opportunity, and inspire community support. Maquoketa, Iowa -- what a proud, agricultural community!

Today you’re meeting three wonderful people who have developed opportunities for students in the Baraboo school district for over the 15 years as part of a program called Transition Plus. Just to give you geographical context, Baraboo is 15 minutes south of Wisconsin Dells. In a nutshell, the Transition Plus program provides services to students with educational disabilities and transition needs in post-secondary education, training, employment, and independent living to promote a successful transition from high school to adult life. Students are paired with businesses to learn new skills, make community connections, and earn income. One of the partnerships happens to be a Wisconsin icon in the restaurant industry. If you thought “I bet that’s Culvers,” you were right. Today you’re meeting Shelley Mordini and Kathy Tuttle. Shelley and Kathy began this journey 15 years ago. Shelley continues the program today. You're also meeting Tanya Sulik, general manager with the Culver's restaurant in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Shelley and Tanya received the 2019 Baraboo Education Association's School Bell Award for their work as part of the Transition Plus program.

If you'd like to learn more about Baraboo's Transition Plus program, email Shelley Mordini ([email protected]). To learn more about Culver's visit https://www.culvers.com/. Be sure to click on "stories" to learn about how they support their communities and the farming industry.

This episode of the Proud Rural Teacher Podcast is part of the Stories from the Driftless Series, a series dedicated telling the digital stories of the teachers in the Driftless Region. The series is made possible thanks to a grant from the Rural Schools Collaborative. The grant is part of RSC's I am a Rural Teacher campaign, a national advocacy effort that is supported by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  

Today we are talking about opportunity, community support, and the love of music in the Viroqua school district. Set in the heart of Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, the district is 25 miles Southeast of LaCrosse, with a student population just under 1200. Today you’re meeting Brad Thew, the MS/HS band director and music educator of 35 years. In this episode, he'll share with you how he turned challenges into unique opportunities to create impactful moments for both his students and the community.  I hope as you listen, you'll feel a sense of inspiration as we move into the second semester. 

Watch the performances 👇👇👇

VHS Marching Band Tailgate Party 2020 with High Mileage (Vernon County Broadcaster news article, October 13, 2020)

VHS Marching Band playing at the Vernon Memorial Hospital (Vernon County Broadcaster news article, November 5, 2020)

VHS Marching Band playing at a local senior care facility

Additional moments of opportunity not mentioned in the podcast audio:

“Coffee, Camaraderie and Keys”  features student & local musicians playing a short 30 minute concert at the start of each Wednesday (Viroqua's staff only days). What a lovely way to begin a hectic day and show the value of Music Education!

If you have questions, you can contact Brad at [email protected] and/or follow him on Twitter @digitalbaton. You can also like the program on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ViroquaBands/.

This episode is just a quick drop of news regarding the new podcast series: Stories from the Driftless. 

Staying current with last week’s theme of digital storytelling, I wanted to share with you another example of the importance of recording our history. As part of a class assignment, one of my students, Jalen Schmitz, chose to learn how to use Soundtrap to record an interview with his grandfather about his time as a farmer in Lancaster in Southwest Wisconsin. It’s such a nice example of how we can leverage technology to facilitate conversation and capture a piece of our rural heritage. I’m hoping you’ll feel inspired by Jalen’s work and interview someone who has a story to tell.

Google Meet

Soundtrap