‘We know how important your rural schools are to our communities’

“Bigger isn’t always better. Build something big here.”

With those words, Aaron Thomas went on to share with an audience of 80 educators what makes being a teacher in a small town so special. “I know all my students by name. I see them in the community, at the store, at Kwik Star.”

Each audience member knew exactly what he was talking about.

Thomas, principal and head basketball coach at Aplington-Parkersburg High School in Parkersburg, Iowa, was the keynote speaker at the Community Foundation’s third annual Rural Teacher Summit on August 7 at Innovate 120 in Maquoketa, Iowa. The 80 people in attendance all hailed from school districts in Eastern Iowa and took time out of their summer break to gather for a day of networking, learning and reconnecting with their passion.

The summit is one of the benefits the Community Foundation offers to teachers in the seven-county Dubuque region through its Rural Teacher Corps, a partnership with the Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC). In 2023, the Foundation became RSC’s Iowa Regional Hub, building its capacity to support thriving rural communities by focusing on a key driver of small-town quality of life: teachers and public schools.

“We really focus on retention of teachers in rural areas, because we know how important your rural schools are to our communities,” Josie Manternach, Community Foundation Program Manager and former Aplington-Parkersburg teacher, told summit attendees. “Without all of you, we wouldn't have our rural schools.”

This year’s summit was built around the theme of “thriving where you teach,” with breakout sessions and speakers focused on topics like burnout prevention, brain health and social-emotional learning. In addition to Thomas’ keynote speech, “The Power of One,” sessions were led by:

• Tara Madden, who works with our partners at the GRAD Partnership and talked about the power of supportive relationships to support academic success as well as student feelings of acceptance, belonging and validity.
• Jared McGovern of The Wanderwood Gardens, a new children’s garden in Dubuque that will open in 2026, who talked about building a positive relationship with nature to enhance personal well-being, spark creativity and support learning.
• Dr. Nicole Skaar of the University of Northern Iowa, who helped educators get in touch with their “social-emotional learning superpowers” and learn how to advocate for social-emotional learning in their classrooms.
• Jessica Golz, founder of Seva Health Center for Well Being, who shared insights on burnout prevention, stress management and neuroscience.

Sarah Ndadire, founder of AfriWell Hub, who led a lunch session that provided an overview of her organization and how it can help teachers lead lessons on Africa and African culture.

With the start of a new school year just days away, attendees were eager to soak up knowledge they could take into their classrooms on day one.

“I came here today to learn more about how to help kids, motivate them, get that energy back that sometimes drains throughout the year,” said Clancy Junk, a seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher at Anamosa Middle School.

In addition to learning strategies for their classrooms, attendees also learned from Community Foundation staff members about grant opportunities for their classrooms. Community Grant Writer Angela Ventris and Community Development Officer Jason Neises introduced attendees to new grants and the Foundation’s grant writing support.

One of the most valuable takeaways from the summit, though, wasn’t new information or even the T-shirts and goodie bags that attendees went home with. It was the feeling of camaraderie and support that comes with being part of the Rural Teacher Corps.

Thomas tapped into this feeling in his keynote address. He talked about growing up the son of a small-town educator and why he decided to move back to his hometown of Parkersburg for his career in education.

One of the most moving parts of his speech was when he shared the story of his hometown’s most traumatizing event in recent memory, a 2008 tornado that destroyed parts of the community, including the high school where his father was principal and his parents’ home, and killed seven people in the town, including his parents’ neighbor.

Despite the devastation, the community’s spirit remained strong, Thomas said. That resilience is part of being from a small town, and small-town teachers carry that resilience with them throughout their careers.

“If we don't make a positive impact on our students and give them a positive experience, who is going to?” he said.