5 years of Rural LIFE
About the Rural LIFE Grant Project
In 2017, the Niswonger Foundation received a federal Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grant to implement the Rural Literacy Initiative Focused on Effectiveness (Rural LIFE) program. Over five years, Rural LIFE guided schools as they implemented personalized learning strategies to support the improvement of 1) academic achievement for middle grades students and 2) literacy instruction for middle grades teachers. Each participating school was paired with a Rural LIFE literacy coach who worked with school leaders and teachers to implement and sustain personalized learning practices in the ELA classroom and beyond.
Rural LIFE used personalized learning strategies to improve:
Participating Schools
Over the past five years, Rural LIFE has served over 60* schools in 17 school systems in Northeast Tennessee.
*Although 72 schools were recruited to participate, some schools closed or consolidated throughout the grant's lifetime.
Boones Creek Middle • Bridgeport Elementary • Bulls Gap School • Camp Creek Elementary* • Centerview Elementary Central Elementary • Chuckey Doak Middle • Church Hill Middle • Clinch School • Cloudland High • Cosby Elementary • Del Rio Elementary • East Ridge Middle • Edgemont Elementary • Fall Branch Elementary • Gatlinburg-Pittman Junior High • Grandview Elementary Grassy Fork Elementary • Gray Elementary • Greeneville Middle • Hampton Elementary Hancock Middle/High • Happy Valley Middle • Holston Middle* • Hunter Elementary • Innovation Academy* • Jefferson Middle • John Sevier Middle • Johnson County Middle • Jones Cove Elementary • Jonesborough Middle • Keenburg Elementary • Lamar Elementary • Liberty Bell Middle Maury Middle • New Center Elementary • Nolachuckey Elementary* • North Greene Middle • North Middle School* • Northview Junior Academy • Northwest Elementary • Parrottsville Elementary • Pigeon Forge Junior High • Pittman Center Elementary* • Ridgeview Elementary • Rogersville Middle Ross N. Robinson Middle • Rush Strong Elementary • Sevierville Middle Smoky Mountain Elementary • South Central Elementary • South Greene Middle • Sullivan Central Middle • Sullivan East Middle • Sullivan Gardens* • Sullivan Heights Middle • Sulphur Springs Elementary • Surgoinsville Middle • T. A. Dugger Junior High • Unaka Elementary • Unicoi County Middle • Tennessee Middle • West Pines Elementary* • West View Middle • West View School White Pine Elementary
3 Key Actions Lead to Countless Key Learnings
Throughout five challenging yet rewarding years, Rural LIFE's team of project leaders, professional learning partners, literacy coaches, and teacher leaders have changed practices in literacy instruction by keeping three practical key actions at the forefront of the project: 1) meeting student needs, 2) supporting teacher development, and 3) creating a sustainable a vision.
