Center for Midwestern Initiatives


Thomasville Rendezvous Celebrates Place-Based Learning

Over 100 participants spent time sharing their successes with place-based learning at this annual meeting, which also included workshops, the Coover Place-Based Education grant awards and the announcement of the 2012 Ozarks Teacher Corps.


Voices of Spoon River: The Ellisville Opera House

Voices of Spoon River is a collaborative effort that celebrates the sense of place in small, rural communities located in western Illinois’ Spoon River Valley.


Pre-Test, Mid-Term; A First-Year Rural Teacher Makes The Grade

Albert Bryant is a first-year mathematics teacher in tiny Everton, Missouri, his hometown.  A graduate of Drury University, Albert was in the inaugural class of the Ozarks Teacher Corps, an effort dedicated to encouraging outstanding teacher prospects to return to their rural home communities as teachers. The Ozarks Teacher Corps is funded by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Rural School Partnership and provides participants with a $4,000 per year scholarship, seminars on rural education issues, and a variety of networking opportunities.


Center for Midwestern Initiatives Blog Launched

The Center for Midwestern Initiatives invites participants to its new blog.


Rural Trust Launches Regional Center

The Rural Trust recently announced the launch of the Center for Midwestern Initiatives. The Center will build partnerships, strengthen philanthropic assets for rural schools and communities, and promote place-based education.