AIRSS Team

Introducing the 2025 Illinois Rural Teacher of the Year: Dee Rose, Shawnee CUSD #84

Rural teachers need to be elevated and celebrated. For all the conversations and challenges we hear about our public education system, it is all too easy to forget that behind it all are living, breathing, thinking, feeling professionals that desire to love our children into becoming the best versions of themselves possible. For this reason, […]

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Illinois Rural Education Policy Insufficiencies Ranked as Most “Crucial” in the Nation According to the 2025 Why Rural Matters Report

MACOMB, IL –The National Rural Education Association (NREA) recently launched the 2025 Why Rural Matters report, a project with a more than 20-year history of shaping the conversation about rural education. First conceptualized by the Rural Schools and Community Trust, the report has evolved into a vital resource for policymakers, educators, and communities.  Why Rural

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Fall 2025 Issue of The Prairie Career Advocate

After an exciting first year, the AIRSS team is proud to launch the second volume ofThe Prairie Career Advocate. This storytelling effort is part of the Rural IL CTE Project that AIRSS and the Illinois State Board of Education began in 2023. The first issue of this new volume features Stillman Valley High School (Meridian

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AIRSS Receives Career Pathway Grant in Partnership with WACS, ROE26, ISBE

AIRSS is dedicated to advancing education for rural students, and supporting Career and Technical Education (CTE) has become a main focus in that goal; our work surrounding CTE programming has grown significantly over the past two years through our Rural IL CTE Project. As well, we are adamant about finding solutions to the rural teacher

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Partnering to Power Progress Across Illinois Rural & Small Schools: AIRSS + OPTERRA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESeptember 1, 2025 Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools Announces Premier Sponsorship with OPTERRA to Support Rural School Infrastructure and Facilities Modernization Springfield, IL – The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools (AIRSS), representing more than 500 member districts statewide, is proud to announce a new Premier Annual Sponsorship with OPTERRA

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The Role and Economic Effects of Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Rural Illinois Communities

Career and Technical Education (CTE) has strong potential in rural schools to serve as a student empowerment and community revitalization powerhouse. Because of their embeddedness, rural schools have long been the foundation of their local economy and society, and CTE offers a direct tie that links school to community through student professional development. Despite this

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AIRSS Welcomes New Partner, Kings Financial Consulting, Inc.

Thank you to Kings Financial Consulting, Inc. for your support of our mission to advocate and be the VOICE of Illinois rural and small schools! Please read their full statement below, and visit their website for more information. Kings Financial Consulting, Inc. is pleased to join the membership of the Association of Illinois Rural and

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