School Of Education - Southern Oregon University

Come support SOU musicians
www.youtube.com/live/JXM7SQ1...

I Am A Rural Teacher: Kailyn Hoesman - Monmouth, IL Kailyn celebrates Place- Based learning in rural schools and communities

Excellent profile on a rural teacher in Illinois.

Home The Rural Schools Collaborative builds sustainable rural communities through a keen focus on place, teachers, and philanthropy.

This is the kind of work Southern Oregon University was built to stand with. Place rooted learning. Teachers at the center. Equity, relationships, and real doing in rural communities. The vision of Rural Schools Collaborative aligns cleanly with SOU’s public mission and history.

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁

👩‍🏫Teacher: Stacy Durych
📍RSC Regional Hub: Oregon - College of Education at Eastern Oregon University
🏫 School: Seneca Elementary School - Seneca, OR
🌱 Project: The Seneca Story Walk: Art, Language, and Living History

Rural schools and districts: Applications are now open for the Rural AI Strategy Lab. This six month, no cost program supports responsible, practical uses of AI in education, designed with rural contexts in mind. Apply by February 13.

Rural education matters because it is rooted in place, care, and possibility. Congratulations to Ashlie Sorestad of Mosier Community School, a Grants in Place Awardee. From Lunch to Life shows rural learning at its best: local, hands on, shaping stewardship.

The Myth of the Heroic Adaptor When Responsiveness Collapses into Triage

A student in one of my classes asked a question that would not let go.

Not whether differentiation matters, but when it is actually possible.

I tried to stay with that question here.

Redmond High School teacher named finalist for Oregon Teacher of the Year Redmond High School teacher Mona Mensing has been honored as the High Desert Region Teacher of the Year and is a finalist for Oregon’s top teaching award.

Mona Mensing teaches English the way it should be taught: with rigor and tenderness held in the same breath. She sees students fully, asks more of them because she believes more in them, and reminds young people that their lives beyond the classroom matter. This is what excellence looks like.

Community Resilience and Leadership Student Fellows - Sustainability at SOU The Institute for Applied Sustainability, located on the campus of Southern Oregon University, brings together scholars and practitioners to advance knowledge, lead, and collaborate to create solution...

Applications open for SOU’s Community Resilience and Leadership Student Fellows. Learn by doing, lead with purpose, and create local change through hands-on projects and paid fellowships. 2026 cohort starts Spring 2026. Open until filled.

The Myth of the Heroic Adaptor When Responsiveness Collapses into Triage

A student in one of my classes asked a question that would not let go.

Not whether differentiation matters, but when it is actually possible.

I tried to stay with that question here.

Lawmakers take up bill to allow big changes to Oregon’s university system The bill, crafted in conjunction with the state’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission, could open the door to mergers between institutions and audits of academic programs.

What do people think?

@rpcvsooregon.bsky.social

Fire District 5 to host town hall on agency updates - Ashland News - Community-Supported, NonProfit News A town hall set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, will give Jackson County Fire District 5 patrons and other community members an updated overview of the district’s staffing and financial matters. The...

A town hall set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, near Emigrant Lake will give Jackson County Fire District 5 patrons and other community members an updated overview of the district’s staffing and financial matters. ashland.news/fire-distric...

YouTube video by Live and Work in Ashland The Culture in Ashland, Oregon

Some of what makes Southern Oregon great!

‘If this world is changing, so should our approach to teaching’: a case for a holistic education Emilie Callesen Doulcet, director of the French Connection Academy, explains her organisation's holistic approach to education - something she believes the traditional system lacks

Holistic education gives musicians more than technique. It teaches survival, care, power, and voice in a system that rarely protects them.

Black-and-white illustrated classroom scene showing several students seated at a long table, writing and reading together in a calm, collaborative setting. Below the illustration, bold text reads “Ready to Lead?” followed by an apple icon. Additional text states “SOU Master of Arts in Teaching. 2026 Applications Now Open.” Smaller text reads “Transform your passion into a career that shapes the next generation.” Southern Oregon University logo appears at the bottom.

sou.edu/academics/ed...

‘Interim’ Ashland High School principal can drop the adjective - Ashland News - Community-Supported, NonProfit News Ashland School Board members are in agreement with Ashland Superintendent Joseph Hattrick’s recommendation to extend Ashland High School Principal Francisco Lopez Atanes’ one-year contract to the 2026...

Ashland School Board members are in agreement with Ashland Superintendent Joseph Hattrick’s recommendation to extend Ashland High School Principal Francisco Lopez Atanes’ one-year contract to the 2026-27 school year. ashland.news/interim-ashl...

Black-and-white illustrated classroom scene showing several students seated at a long table, writing and reading together in a calm, collaborative setting. Below the illustration, bold text reads “Ready to Lead?” followed by an apple icon. Additional text states “SOU Master of Arts in Teaching. 2026 Applications Now Open.” Smaller text reads “Transform your passion into a career that shapes the next generation.” Southern Oregon University logo appears at the bottom.

sou.edu/academics/ed...

oregoned.org/advocating-c...

https://oregoned.org/advocating-change/new-from-oea/spotlight-special-education

This OEA story makes the crisis in Special Education unmistakable. Chronic underfunding harms students and drives educators out. At SOU, we are committed to recruiting SPED teachers through scholarships, in-person preparation, and pathways to teaching.

@oregoneducation.bsky.social

https://oregoned.org/advocating-change/new-from-oea/spotlight-special-education

This OEA story makes the crisis in Special Education unmistakable. Chronic underfunding harms students and drives educators out. At SOU, we are committed to recruiting SPED teachers through scholarships, in-person preparation, and pathways to teaching.

@oregoneducation.bsky.social

For a Good Cause: This nonprofit is helping local educators combat plastic pollution Algalita Marine Research and Education, a local nonprofit, has revamped its educator mini-grants program to support teachers driving environmental action, organizers said.

This is such a great effort.

souschoolofeducation.substack.com/p/she-built-...

YouTube video by Californians Dedicated to Education Foundation This is Equity

A powerful video!

Keeping Oregon’s educators rural - East Oregonian Two programs are working to help support teaching in rural Oregon.

Stories like this matter. At SOU, our MAT program offers some of the strongest scholarships in Oregon so future teachers can afford preparation, learn in person, and return to rural communities from the coast to Eastern Oregon. Apply. Teach where you’re needed.