Welcome to Mile Markers, a twice-a-month newsletter about rural higher education.

Something I heard while listening to folks across Montana last month is that rural employers  – from community banks to lumber mills – are seeking young people with proven soft skills. Just like corporate executives in bigger cities, managers in rural areas want to see students who show professionalism, problem-solving skills, financial literacy and more.

That’s why some rural school districts like North Ottawa County USD 239 in Kansas are introducing a new program this fall: an opportunity for students to earn credentials for soft skills learned in high school or middle school.

“One of the big ones that we heard about over and over again from managers when they did listening sessions – and we’ve done that in our community, as well – is this ability to resolve conflict and use emotional intelligence,” said Curtis Stevens, superintendent of North Ottawa County Schools.

While students may already be learning some of these skills, it can be difficult to show a student’s proficiency on a resume or high school transcript. But now, through this microcredentials model led by nonprofit GenUS, students can earn a digital badge that they can post on LinkedIn or include in college applications – just like they would for a certificate in, say, Microsoft Excel.

After this model got its start in Maine, more than 120 Kansas high schools associated with the nonprofit Jobs for America’s Graduates - Kansas are launching their own versions this fall. Craig Larrabee, CEO of GenUS, said they work with individual districts and schools to co-design programs that best meet their communities’ needs.

And this model will likely look different in each school. For example, North Ottawa County Schools serves about 600 students with just over 40 instructors  – numbers that will change a little when they add their first pre-K program this year. Instead of adding new courses on soft skills, Stevens said they are building these credentials into existing advisory periods that students already attend at the end of the day. They also plan to work with their career and technical student organizations like Future Farmers of America, HOSA - Future Health Professionals, SkillsUSA and Business Professionals of America.

Other school districts like York School Department, which serves about 1,500 students in coastal Maine, are establishing new classes that students rotate into with topics like job and career readiness. 

Tim Doak, superintendent in York, said he sees this as one way to make middle and high school education more meaningful for students.

“For a student, the confidence level is out of this world,” he said. “I think it means more than having a B plus or an A minus, because it means that I've done x, y and z to some standard, some preset skill set that was needed.”

According to Larrabee, the adaptability is the beauty of this model, and both superintendents in rural Kansas and coastal Maine said they believed it could help level the playing field no matter what size school a student attends.

For example, Stevens said that larger districts in more metropolitan areas often can provide additional value like Advanced Placement courses, which can require more teachers. The microcredential option that builds on existing instruction can be a more flexible way to prepare students for their next step, whether that’s college or career.

“The best export of rural America right now, unfortunately, is its youth,” Stevens said. “So by [allowing] students to gain access to a mechanism that levels the validity of the education they’re receiving – such as microcredentials – we’re also able to continue to offer opportunities in rural areas that individuals can return to.”

Larrabee said some colleges plan to accept the credentials for credit.

“We've known forever that durable skills, soft skills, are critical to success for young people. Now we have something that recognizes them, can be braided, can be evidence-based, and in a couple of months can be offered for college credit,” he said.

I've heard from several people that colleges can serve as the heartbeat of community in rural places. They are hubs for accessing arts and culture. Internet. Public meeting spaces. And more. 

I would love to hear about the special places where you've lived, worked or studied:

On Thursday, July 23, I plan to attend Rural Assembly Everywhere. This is a virtual broadcast that I haven’t had a chance to attend yet but have heard amazing things about. You can check out the lineup and register for free here.  

Soft skills must be the topic of the week because I came across this interesting report from MDRC that touches on a similar thread as the GenUS program I dug into above, but specifically targeting computer science and engineering courses in New Orleans.

Last month, I skimmed the surface of Workforce Pell as it relates to rural community colleges, but reporter Jacob Biba does an excellent deep dive into what this rollout looks like in North Carolina in his story for NC Local and Open Campus.

When I was in Montana a few weeks ago, I visited a family friend who lives on the Flathead Indian Reservation, and I loved flipping through the local newspaper Char-Koosta News. This story about an all-girls drone camp at the tribal college was one of my favorites.

And this piece from Heartland Forward helped me think a little differently about how video games and AI can help prepare rural students in Arkansas for the future. 

Alright, that’s all for now! As always, send me an email if you want to chat more about rural higher education or collaborate on a way to keep this conversation going.

Thanks for reading and loving rural.
Talk soon,

Emily

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