Branches

Are you familiar with these rural facts? Nearly forty percent of New Hampshire’s population is considered rural (Economic Research Service, 2018). On average, rural students have lower achievement outcomes and graduation rates than their suburban counterparts (Institute of Education Sciences, 2013). (TRRE Partner Schools) In 2016, the University of New Hampshire, Department of Education, received one of the few rural Teacher Quality Partnership awards in the United States establishing the Teacher Residency for Rural Education (TRRE) program. TRRE graduates commit to work in a rural partner school for three years and receive induction support the first two years of their career after successful completion of the M.Ed. and NH teacher certification requirements. TRRE is preparing high-quality teachers to teach in rural NH engaging the partner communities in the future of education in the process. Renewed interest in teacher preparation in the context of rural education has ...

As we plan for TRRE's expansion to the Lakes Region south of the notch NH, we'd like to introduce two new key TRRE team members, Bryan Mascio and Emilie Coppinger. The planning process will begin this fall and will continue through the winter as we prepare for the next cohort of TRRE students (known as “residents”) who will begin in May 2019. Bryan Mascio, TRRE Postdoctoral Associate, main responsibilities for TRRE are to establish and maintain partnerships with schools and districts south of the notch; conduct research on teacher learning, development, and practice; and teach courses to graduate students enrolled in the TRRE program. Bryan earned a master’s degree in Mind Brain and Education, and recently completed his doctorate in Human Development and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). His primary research focuses on the social-emotional-cognitive skills of teaching and the development of those complex skills. He continues to work with scho...

Meet a TRRE Teaching Resident Rebecca graduated from Plymouth State University with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy and an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of New Hampshire. She has participated in many research experiences including a six-month stormwater management internship in Ohio, climate research in Northern Sweden, and an environmental service learning semester in Italy. Rebecca was a paraprofessional in Berlin public schools prior to learning about TRRE. “Pursuing teacher certification through the TRRE program will allow me to integrate my love and enthusiasm for science, real world scientific experiences, and my interest in teaching.” Rebecca is enrolled in the elementary with middle school science with (K-8) certification pathway. She is currently working in a Groveton Middle School science classroom with a teaching mentor.

There’s no such thing as average. Of course, that’s speaking neurologically. Learning about the variability of human brains was just one of the takeaways from TRRE’s Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Institute, attended by teaching residents from cohorts I and II, teaching mentors, and members of the TRRE management team. Participants gathered at North Country Education Services (NCES) on June 27 th and had the opportunity to learn about UDL, neuroscience, and what learner variability means for instructional curriculum and design.     Led by Allison Posey, curriculum and design specialist from CAST, the Institute focused on learning the core principles of UDL and applying them to design lessons and classroom environments to meet the needs of all learners. Rooted in concepts from architecture and technology, as well as neuroscience, UDL focuses on proactive design to allow for flexibility, and emphasizes that barriers to learning are often social, instru...

T he school year may have just started, but districts in the Lakes Region are already looking to the future, and the possibility of supporting new math and science teachers in local schools over the next several years. In May 2019, future teachers enrolled in the University of New Hampshire’s Teacher Residency for Rural Education (TRRE) will begin a 15-month program based in Lakes Region community organizations and area schools. These “teaching residents” will live and teach in rural New Hampshire communities while earning their graduate degrees. After graduation, they will commit to teaching in rural, high-need New Hampshire schools for at least three years. TRRE, a grant-funded teacher education program supported by the United States Department of Education, has recently confirmed a planned expansion into the Lakes Region. Conway Elementary, Kenneth A. Brett School, Pittsfield Elementary and Middle Schools, Ossipee Central Elementary School, Farmington Valley View and H...

TRRE Cohort Update - Saplings and Seedlings TRRE Cohort I is moving on to the first year of teaching and the new cohort has survived the first Summer Institute. The school year is just about to start and 80% of cohort I is preparing to teach in district partner schools. The hiring school districts include Colebrook, Gorham, and Berlin. Our new teachers are excited to set up their classrooms and launch their career with continuing support from TRRE. Cohort II is twice the size of our first group and more diverse. We have a wider age range and a combination of men and women teacher residents. Three of the new TRRE program participants have moved to the North Country to participate in the program; one from Vermont and two from other parts of New Hampshire. TRRE residents in Cohort II have chosen the following certification pathways: two high school science, one middle school science, one middle school science/elementary, and six elementary. Members of cohort II ar...

Michael J. Kelle y Superintendent SAU 58, Northumberland - Stark - Stratford I am the Superintendent of Schools for SAU #58 in Groveton, NH. The district consists of four small schools; Stark Village School, Stratford Public School, Groveton Elementary School, and Groveton High School. This is my third year in the role of superintendent; previous to that I was a principal for eight years, assistant principal for ten years, and high school social studies teacher for four years. After twenty years of public school administration, it feels like I have seen and done it all!! I have been involved with the TRRE program since its inception in the North Country; first as a listener and now as an advisory board member and advocate. The TRRE program has several dimensions that are mutually beneficial for   university studen...

Meet a TRRE Teaching Resident "If teaching in a rural school setting is of interest to you, and your morals align with those of the TRRE program, the opportunity is priceless!" - Aidan Aidan Wiggin has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and a minor in large animal science from Delaware Valley College. She worked in environmental compliance for three years in Pennsylvania and returned to her native New Hampshire in fall 2017. She is passionate about small town living and giving back to the community. Her two favorite hobbies are horseback riding and hiking with her two dogs. Since she completed her summer community-based internship at 4-H-UNH Cooperative Extension, Aidan accepted an invitation to continue her community involvement and she joined the Advisory Council for Cooperative Extension in Co ӧ s County. Aidan is enrolled in the secondary science certification pathway with concentration in life science. Her residency school placement this year is at ...

In January, TRRE and UNH Extension partnered to provide a a day-long workshop on youth mental health . TRRE teaching residents, faculty, and area youth workers benefitted from the 8-hour certification course led by UNH Extension child, youth, and family resiliency specialists Gail Kennedy and Thom Linehan. Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training is a 5-step action plan offering initial help to young people showing signs of a mental illness or who are in a crisis, and connects them with the appropriate professional, peer, social, or self-help care. Tom Schram , TRRE's Director of Pedagogy and Clinical Experience participated with teaching residents and expressed, “Classroom teachers are likely to encounter young people in emotional or mental crises," and added, Part of being an effective teacher is knowing how to respond to whatever you see in front of you, and, in cases of emotional or mental stress, then knowing how to connect that young person with the appropri...

Teacher Residency for Rural Education (TRRE) teaching residents and faculty recently kicked off the spring semester by gathering together at Gorham’s North Country Education Services to share strategies and learn about the relationship between curriculum and assessment. Each semester TRRE faculty gather with teaching residents for symposia that review course content and highlight the connection to teaching students in rural communities. Courses for spring include:  Exploring Mathematics with Young Children  with Dr. Kathryn McCurdy,  Introduction to Assessment  taught by Dr. Emilie Reagan, and our Residency Internship and Seminar in Teaching with Dr. Tom Schram. At this symposium, local math specialists Ann Elise Record from Hillside Elementary  in Berlin and Mark Pribbernow from Lancaster Elementary shared how specialists work with and support classroom teachers. Teaching residents learned a helpful analogy:  Teaching math is an iceberg – what...

Ms. Jellison - TRRE Teaching Mentor and STEAM Coordinator at White Mountains Regional High School Ms. Jellison is an eleven year veteran in the classroom teaching both middle school and high school with a focus on science and inquiry based learning. Ms. Jellison is hosting one of the TRRE residents for the 2017-2018 school year. This teaching resident has become an integral component to the learning environment at WMRHS. What makes the TRRE program important is the dedication to the North Country. Working in a rural community is a unique experience. Rural settings can also be great places to work, especially since teaching in these areas is much more relationship-driven between the community providers and families. Teaching residents are not only embedded into the school environment, but they are also outside the classroom walls volunteering in the communities in which they work and live. I hope to continue in being an advocate for the program and would love to be a mentor ...

My name is Holly Munce and I am a proud member of the first TRRE cohort. My placement is in grade 5 at Hillside Elementary School in Berlin with my strand focus of Elementary Education, kindergarten through grade 6. Over the summer, my community internship was two-fold. I was a volunteer with the Family Resource Center in Gorham, NH where I shared time observing Family Reunification Visits as well as spending time with the summer youth program for children 6-11 years old. Prior to my participation in the TRRE program, I was an economics teacher at New Hampton School in New Hampton, NH, then settled in Berlin fourteen years ago. Since becoming a permanent fixture in the Berlin community, I became a parent to two amazing children and joined the Berlin School District as a Title 1 paraprofessional where I worked for six years. Joining the TRRE cohort was a natural progression in my deeper connection to the community and to education. The program was suggested to me by my buildin...