In rural regions across the country, there is a strong demand for committed, effective school leaders. The Rural School Leadership Academy is open to all educators passionate about rural education and driven toward school leadership roles.
About the Rural School Leadership Academy
Develop the knowledge and skills necessary for school leadership roles while building a powerful network of aspiring school leaders in rural communities.
The Rural School Leadership Academy is a yearlong fellowship for up to 50 participants made up of three streams of aspiring and current school leaders:
- Stream 1: Classroom teachers who are beginning to explore school leadership roles.
- Stream 2: Mid-level school-based leaders preparing for school principal roles.
- Stream 3: School principals focused on building and sustaining their leadership.
The key program components include:
- Three cycles of professional development focused on building school leadership competencies.
- In person gatherings and school visits in rural communities during the fellowship. (safety permitting)
- Continuous Participant-driven application of learning to impact participant’s school community.
Optional program components:
- One-on-one leadership coaching twice-monthly throughout the fellowship for participants in streams 2 or 3.
- Complete courses in one of two certifications from Harvard Graduate School of Education
All program expenses are fully funded for participants.
2023-2024 Learning Cycles and Rural Gatherings
The program commitments are participation in 3 Learning Cycles and 1 Rural School Community Visit. The following are the tentative dates for the live & virtual gatherings for the 2023-2024 cohort. Final dates, locations, session overviews, materials, and event registration will be communicated in advance of each component.
*While we are optimistic that we will be able to safely travel to attend live gatherings as a part of the cohort experience, we will make and communicate modifications as they are needed to this tentative schedule.
- Summer 2023: Hybrid Learning Cycle, location TBD, In person Tuesday, July 18 - Friday, July 21, 2023 with virtual programming continuing through August 6, 2023
- Fall 2023: Virtual Learning Cycle, Saturday, October 14 Kick-Off, Cycle ends November 4, 2023
- Winter 2023/24: In Person Rural School Community Visits, locations and specific dates TBD. Participants will choose one rural school community visit that works for their schedule to attend
- Spring 2024: Hybrid Learning Cycle, location TBD, In person Thursday, March 14 - Sunday, March 17, 2024
Eligibility & Requirements
We are looking for applicants who are passionate about rural education and are driven toward school leadership roles.
This program is now open to all rural educators. You do not need to be a Teach For America alum to apply.
We welcome school based teams to apply together, such as a principal, the assistant principal and a teacher leader from the same school. Each member of a team will submit an individual application. There is a space on the individual application to indicate if you are a member of a school team applying.
All Participants:
Must be working in a rural K-12 school setting for the 2023-24 school year.
Must be able to fully attend required components in all three learning cycles and at least one in person gathering.
Stream 1 Participants:
Should be teaching in a rural school.
Should be interested in pursuing an adult-facing leadership role in a rural K-12 school setting in the next 1-3 years.
Stream 2 Participants:
Must be serving in a role where the majority of your time is focused on instructional leadership of adults (likely a mid-level leadership role in a school such as assistant principal or dean.)
Should have clear aspirations toward principalship in a rural community in the next 1-3 years.
Should anticipate being in this role for the 2023-24 school year.
Stream 3 Participants:
Must be serving in a principal or head of school role.
Should have clear aspirations to sustain their work in school leadership in a rural community for the next 2-5 years.
Should anticipate being in this role for the 2023-24 school year.
Apply
Final Deadline - Wednesday, 5/10/23 - 11:59pm HT
Please contact RSLA@teachforamerica.org if you have any questions.
Nominate a colleague by completing this form.
What our participants are saying about RSLA
“RSLA has been an amazing way to continue my growth as a developing school leader. After completing my master's program last year, I was striving to find more ways that I could continue my leadership development. RSLA has done that and more. The focus on equity, racial justice, rurality, and strengthening core leadership competencies have significantly impacted my trajectory towards becoming an effective school leader. RSLA has been one of the most meaningful professional development opportunities I have ever participated in.”
“I wish all my Professional Developments were like this. I built great relationships with my cohort through the experience.”
“By allowing me to see beyond my community, RSLA has allowed me to become more rooted in my own rural context. I see myself as more of a leader and change maker than I did prior to RSLA.”
“I am extremely grateful for my RSLA experience because it has grown me in ways that I wouldn't have imagined coming into this program. I have gotten applicable tools, resources and strategies to lead with an equity-based lens and have an even greater sense of urgency.”
“I wish all my Professional Developments were like this. I built great relationships with my cohort through the experience.”
“One of the things that I loved most was the relevance of what we were learning to what is going on in our schools. The understanding of how important it is as leaders in rural schools to know ourselves, our students and our community as we explore diversity, equity and inclusion was so well done. It really was empowering as a rural leader to be thinking about how I can make these changes yet still honor the community in which I work.”
“I've learned strategies that I will be implementing on the daily basis.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Please contact RSLA@teachforamerica.org if you have any questions that are not answered below.
Rural locations are generally characterized by geographic isolation and small populations.
RSLA participants have come from all over the country, including from towns that are 2+ hours away from an airport and/or large grocery store.
If you have specific questions or concerns about your situation, please email RSLA@teachforamerica.org.
Each learning engagement is made up of a series of 4-6 sessions that build leadership across our prioritized competencies:
- Leading for Equity
- Building Culture
- Decision Making and Communication
- Developing a Vision for your School and Leadership
- Contextualizing and Honoring Place
In person sessions engage participants from 3-8 hours depending on the content and facilitation approach. Our sessions focus on helping participants develop their personal and inter-personal leadership skills and are extremely interactive and practice oriented. On average, across our last cohort of programming, 100% of participants stated that sessions were of value to their current work and future career goals.
In between the fall and spring learning cycles, participants will travel to a rural community to engage with each other as a cohort in person, learn about the rural community, and visit innovative schools. Each gathering will take place during the week over 2.5-3 days including travel to and from our destination. These visits will focus on place and rurality as well as give an opportunity to learn from rural schools in action. Past participants strongly agreed that these visits were a transformative experience in their leadership practice and provided concrete ideas they took back to their own communities.
Participants who opt to will work with a leadership coach twice monthly. Your coach will meet with you virtually and engage in coaching aligned to your individual interests and learning priorities. Our coaches use a cyclical approach, supporting you to identify a practice to implement and work to reflect on the impact of those practices.
Yes. In 2022-2023 RSLA returned to in person programming with 100% of participants stating they would recommend this model of RSLA to their peers. For the 2023-2024 program year participants are required to attend the in person summer learning cycle, one of the rural school community visits and the spring learning cycle in person. The fall learning cycle is required and will be virtual. We will continue to monitor the health climate and should it become unsafe for participants to travel and gather in person during the fellowship year, we will adjust the approach to school and community visits to a virtual one.
Yes. Nominations and referrals are welcome and an important way we identify candidates for the RSLA. To nominate someone or yourself, please complete this form or email RSLA@teachforamerica.org. You are encouraged to nominate multiple rural leaders. Your nomination(s) will remain anonymous unless you indicate otherwise.
Yes. We have seen that when teams or duos participate together in RSLA, they are able to bring even more of the learning back to their school community. Some examples of strong teams: the principal, an assistant principal and a lead teacher, multiple assistant principals from the same district/network, multiple teachers from the same school, etc. There is a place on the application to indicate if you have a team member applying with you and/or to nominate someone to join your team.
Yes. We offer a full program of professional development that builds on sessions and learning outcomes throughout the fellowship. Because one of our priorities for development is building a strong and connected community amongst RSLA participants, it is important that participants commit to fully engaging in each learning cycle. If or when emergencies that impact attendance do happen, we work together to make accommodations for our participants.