In today’s episode, Michelle Murphy, Kirk Banghart, and Denille LePlatt are joined by Ken Haptonstall (Executive Director, Colorado River BOCES) to discuss the integration of career and technical education (CTE) in rural communities. Haptonstall’s extensive experience and expertise with rural school districts in Colorado brings an eye-opening perspective to this conversation. Haptonstall emphasizes the importance of workforce development and industry certifications for students, infusing career connected learning into schools, and the challenges and solutions these initiatives face in a state predominantly focused on college readiness. Tune in to learn more about the real-world experience Haptonstall hopes to bring to rural schools in Colorado.

We are back for our fifth season of Redefining Rural! In the opening episode Kirk, Michelle, and Denille talk with David Blackburn, the Superintendent of Salida Schools District, about the power of Career Connected Learning and the critical impact that the state grants have made to this work! We will also discuss how the end of these grants will hurt students across the state and possible solutions to keep the work going.

Have you ever thought, “I want to become a teacher but I don’t want to leave my rural community”? In this episode, Valerie Sherman and Cindy Gutierrez from CU Denver talk about the exciting T-PREP program - a pathway for individuals and local talent who live and work in rural Colorado to earn a Bachelor’s degree and teacher licensure without needing to uproot or commute! Learn about how T-PREP leverages relationships with local community colleges, provides flexibility for families and working folks, and utilizes the role you may already perform in schools to meet licensure requirements.

https://linktr.ee/redefiningrural

New Episode Alert!

Listen to this month’s Redefining Rural Podcast where Kirk talks to Erica Ryan, Post-Secondary Workforce Specialist at CDE. In this episode they discuss the new Teacher Recruitment, Education, and Preparation program (TREP) that offers the opportunity for high school students to have two years of higher education paid for by the state. Check out this podcast to learn more about TREP!

Listen to the latest episode of Redefining Rural with Denille, Michelle, and Kirk as they speak to Dr. Katie Anderson-Pence, the Associate Dean at the University of CO, Colorado Springs, and Dave Slothower, the Superintendent of Calhan School District. The guest speakers talk about a robust Registered Apprenticeship Program that focus’ on supporting paraprofessionals becoming licensed teachers and the positive effects this will have on teacher retention moving forward.

This season we’re focusing on exciting teacher recruitment and retention projects around the state of Colorado. In this episode you will hear from Paul Major about a new project that provides housing for educators. Todd Bittner, the superintendent of the Norwood School District in South West CO, describes the housing availability in his community and the innovative solutions to provide support for single teachers looking to move to and teach in the area. Listen to this episode to learn more about this unique project!

Redefining Rural is back for season four! Join Michelle Murphy of the Colorado Rural Alliance, Denille LePlatt of the South Central BOCES, and Kirk Banghart, Chief Facilitator of the Colorado Rural Education Collaborative, to learn about teacher recruitment and retention programs that are making a difference throughout the state of Colorado in rural communities. 

To learn more, listen to the entire episode here: https://linktr.ee/redefiningrural

Learn about the final two of the five students who have received the Redefining Rural Scholarship through the amazing work they’ve put into their schools and local communities. Ashlynn and Tuff share in individual videos what steps they’ve taken to improve their communities and what their goals are moving forward.

https://linktr.ee/redefiningrural

In Part one of our two part episode we will introduce you to three of the five students from rural communities around Colorado that have truly shown what it means to “redefine rural” and have received the Redefining Rural Scholarship. Nick, Elizabeth, and Mohammad are all recent graduates who have taken initiative to improve their communities and are going to continue their efforts as they move forward in their next adventure. We are in awe of these student leaders and are proud to support their continued education and work. https://linktr.ee/redefiningrural