Congratulations to the 2012 class of the Ozarks Teacher Corps. The nine students representing four Ozarks universities will be formally introduced on April 26 in Thomasville, Mo., during the annual Rural Schools Rendezvous. Each recipient is from a rural home town and–in exchange for $4,000 for each of their final two years in school, plus a wealth of professional development opportunities–will upon graduating agree to teach in a rural district for at least three years.

The goal of the Ozarks Teacher Corps is to develop talented teaching candidates who will explore rural education issues, serve as teacher interns in small schools, and commit to teaching in their respective home communities for at least three years.  The overarching purpose of the Ozarks Teacher Corps is to encourage extremely capable and passionate young people to become educators and return to their rural hometowns as teacher-leaders.

Read more about the Ozarks Teacher Corps here

This program is made possible by the Chesley and Flora Lea Wallis Trust, a $1.7 million Community Foundation of the Ozarks charitable fund, and also supported by the Henry J. and Lucille J. Straus Scholarship Fund.

The 2012 Ozarks Teacher Corps recipients are:

Jessica Bruce, Missouri State University, from Bolivar

Lillard (Del) Davis, Missouri State University-West Plains, from Mountain Grove

Amy Ginnings, Missouri State University, from Pleasant Hope

Deidre Quackenbush, Missouri State University, from Ava

Patricia Rodriguez, Missouri State University-West Plains, from West Plains

ReBena Sigman, Missouri State University-West Plains, from Cabool

Morgan Spencer, Evangel University, from Stark City

Ashley Tucker, Drury University, from Fair Grove

Myra Yost, Missouri State University-West Plains, from West Plains

Congratulations to all, and we will see you on April 26!