Jordyn Sigman, a 2023 graduate of West Plains High School and a teacher at Koshkonong (Oregon-Howell) School District, has received a $500 classroom grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
The grant will help Sigman purchase items needed for her classroom, said foundation officials. It was presented in recognition of her participation in the Ozarks Teacher Corps and funded through the Rural Schools Collaborative’s Community of Learners program.
Sigman joined the Ozarks Teacher Corps in 2024 while studying education at Missouri State University through the outreach program at its West Plains campus.
“We’re so grateful to call Sigman an alum of the Ozarks Teacher Corps and to provide this grant for her classroom,” said Beth Hersh, the CFO’s director of scholarships and adviser of the Ozarks Teacher Corps. “Ensuring new teachers are well prepared to serve in rural schools is critical, because school districts are essential to the health of rural communities.”
The Ozarks Teacher Corps is part of the CFO’s Rural Schools Partnership, an initiative that links rural schools and the communities they anchor. Teacher-education students attending MSU, Drury University, Missouri Southern State University and Southeast Missouri State University may apply to join the corps, which offers a $4,000 scholarship renewable for a second year.
To join, scholarship recipients must agree to teach for at least three years after graduation at a rural school district in the region. Established in 2010, the Ozarks Teacher Corps has become a model for similar programs across the country.
For more information, visit cfozarks.org/rsp.
