The Current and Future Educator Workforce in Wisconsin’s Rural Schools
WCER Working Paper No. 2025-4
Jenny Seelig and Bradley Carl
October 2025, 54 pp.
ABSTRACT: This paper builds upon previous work investigating Wisconsin’s rural educator workforce by (a) summarizing key characteristics of the current teacher workforce in Wisconsin’s rural schools and how these may have changed over time; and (b) documenting ways in which the state’s approved educator preparation programs (EPPs) are helping attract, prepare, and retain future rural educators. We find that rural districts have uneven access and relationships with the state’s EPPs, which is largely (although not exclusively) a function of their physical distance from EPPs. We also find a wide range of programs and partnerships that EPPs have developed to help meet the staffing needs of rural schools statewide, such as dual-credit courses and placements specifically in rural districts for practicum and student teaching experiences, although we recommend that EPPs and other postsecondary institutions review the extent to which these are intentionally rural-focused. We close by summarizing several key issues that emerged from our inquiry into how Wisconsin’s EPPs and other organizations are supporting both current and future rural teachers and offer potential policy recommendations for addressing these issues.
keywords: Rural schools, educator shortages, teacher recruitment
