What does a rural teacher do? If you had asked this question as I began my first year of teaching at Hussar School, a rural K-12 school in Southern Alberta, Canada, I likely would have let you know which classes I would be teaching.

I soon discovered that teaching classes was actually the smallest part of my job, and that my assignment expanded to include coaching four sports (one of which I had never played), running student council, planning multiple field trips, helping the seniors apply for college, working with local veterans, organizing community clean-ups, providing homes for unwanted pets, coaxing wayward salamanders out of the school each morning, learning how to reduce a Xerox machine to its greatest number of parts and put it back together, and selling and buying wrapping paper, wreaths, chocolate almonds, beef jerky, and bulk spices—some of which I still have two decades later (apparently, five pounds of sea salt lasts a very long time).

While the extra projects and roles reduced the hours I had for myself, they expanded my community circle, and increased how deeply I knew my students and colleagues, and how much I loved my job.

Rural teachers often play an outsized role in their communities, filling in gaps and sharing talents, but rural schools and students also play an outsized role in the lives of teachers by providing relationships and connections that span lifetimes. Recently, I asked some graduate students taking the Mentoring New Teachers course at Montana State University to reflect on their first years of teaching. One student recalled, “My only goal was to survive,” as he remembered being wholly consumed by the day-to-day tasks of a first-year teacher. Another shared that she was thinking “teaching was not for [her],” when a handwritten note from a parent confirmed her value to the students in her classroom. The support of and connection to the community can increase the chances of “survival” for rural beginning teachers.

teachers in the classroom and on field trips

Photos (left): Wendy Morical; (all others): Marcie Reuer

New teacher recruitment and retention often depend on the sum of many small acts by community members to help new teachers feel like they belong. Offering a welcome doesn’t have to be a grand gesture: invite a new teacher to a community event, share a history book, make a legendary town recipe together, drop off some garden tomatoes, help connect them with resources or experts in town, invite them to share their talents on service projects, offer to assist in the classroom… or just make small talk at the grocery store. Any of these can deepen a new teacher’s love for the place they are teaching.

In my second week of teaching at Hussar, one of my students’ grandmothers gave me a book from her personal collection, called Place Names of Alberta, knowing I was commuting an hour to the school. At first glance, I found out that almost all the Alberta towns were named after the original postmaster’s eldest daughters — an interesting, but not life-changing, piece of information. However, in the months that followed, I began to treasure the book beyond the facts, and it was a starting point for many conversations. My student’s grandmother taught me the importance of “place” — extending beyond simply understanding the place where a school resides — to finding my place in the community.

One of my favorite things about teaching pre-service teachers at Montana State University is seeing where their new career takes them. It is heartening to hear about the remarkable ways towns all over Montana roll out the red carpet for new teachers.

A veteran teacher in Plains spent the summer renovating a house so it could be rented to students completing their student teaching. A music store in Glendive offered a VIP music pass to a beginning teacher who helped teach guitar lessons, while the superintendent moved a new teacher’s moving boxes up many flights of stairs on a 100-degree day. A private ranch with pictographs near Lewistown offered tours to a new classroom teacher in Grass Range. A coffee shop in Shelby treated beginning teachers to numerous free cups of coffee. A fellow teacher in Glasgow provided free cat-sitting so a new teacher could visit family in a different state.

Montana State University’s Center for Research on Rural Education has optional rural teaching experiences for each year of education students’ four-year degree program as part of the Rural Teacher Pathways Program. This exposure, where experienced educators pull back the curtain on rural teaching, has proven to be a valuable part of educating pre-service teachers about the whole experience of teaching and living in rural communities. The immersive experiences help students decide they can meet the call for rural teaching.

a group of future teachers

Photo Credit: Marcie Reuer

Rural teachers often play an outsized role in their communities, filling in gaps and sharing talents, but rural schools and students also play an outsized role in the lives of teachers by providing relationships and connections that span lifetimes.

Nearly three-fourths of schools in Montana are classified as rural schools, and Montana has more one-and two-room schoolhouses than any other state. MSU is committed to providing high-quality rural teaching experiences to help address teaching shortages that are often more pronounced in rural areas. The success of the program is due, in large part, to host communities that help pre-service teachers feel welcome when they arrive.

Rhianna Ashcraft participated in the Rural Teaching Discovery experience for sophomores in Miles City. Her host teacher and the community extended a warm Montana welcome with classroom decorations, special treats and more. Ashcraft said the experience solidified her decision to become a teacher. This outcome is not unique, as other students have received personalized books made by students, artwork, school clothing and mementos to remind them of the important work they do.

As teachers graduate from MSU, they can access support from programs such as Mentor Montana, which pairs beginning teachers with experienced teachers, professors and peers. MSU is intentional about building community among education students through programs, events and during classes so they can take a network of support with them.

Extending a spirit of hospitality to beginning rural teachers increases the likelihood of them staying in the community, and it helps them discover their place within it. The small acts of welcome from neighbors, colleagues, and students’ families do more than ease the transition; they weave new teachers into the fabric of the town.

Back to the question: what does a rural teacher do? They teach, of course, but they also coach, mentor, volunteer, organize, learn, and belong. In doing so, they carve a place in the lives of their students and in the rhythms of a community. And just as teachers discover their place, they help others — colleagues, families, even whole town — discover theirs. It is in this shared exchange of time, care, and connection that both teachers and communities find their strength.

Marcie Reuer is an Associate Teaching Professor in MSU’s Department of Education and the Director of Outreach and Engagement, and Co-leader of Rural Teacher Pathways.