ROANOKE RAPIDS — North Carolina Superintendent for Public Instruction June Atkinson unveiled a bold new idea to address teacher recruiting and retention in rural schools during her meeting Tuesday with a small group of Roanoke Valley political, educational and industrial leaders.

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During her meeting at the Roanoke Valley Chamber of Commerce, the superintendent acknowledged rural school districts have a number of disadvantages when trying to attract new teachers and keeping existing educators. Issues such as a lack of social life for young teachers and lower salaries present challenges, challenges Atkinson knows must be addressed.

“We know they’re going to stay two or three years,” Atkinson said. “What can we do to plan for that turnover?”

Her idea for a solution seems innovative. “If we can’t get those experienced teachers to the classrooms, why can’t we take the classrooms to them?”

Atkinson proposed a system where experienced teachers either record lesson presentations or are available electronically in real-time to students. When a teacher or administrator in a rural area wants a presentation from someone at the top of the field, they hit a button in their existing classroom and get the lesson taught to their students electronically.

“It’s technology used to support classroom instruction,” Atkinson told the group.

In addition to this new idea, Atkinson discussed the importance of industry in the educational process. “Students really see the relevancy of education when they have the opportunity to work with adults,” she asserted. “Students see the relevancy of education when they tie work and education together. The involvement of business and industry is critical to the futures of our students.”

Atkinson outlined what she dubbed her “EMS” approach to educational readiness for today’s students. The “E” stands for expectations.

“We have to have higher expectations than we’ve ever had,” Atkinson stated. “Today we are not competing with just the adjoining county; we are competing with people across the world. Not only are we competing with people across the world, but we are also at a time in our history where we can collaborate with people around the world. The education we had in the 20th century may have been good enough then, but it’s not good enough today. That’s because of the challenges we have to face. We have to have the expectations that we will do great things.”

The M in her approach stands for matters, as in what really matters in education. For Atkinson, this starts with early childhood education, particularly with regard to literacy and vocabulary.

“Vocabulary is a huge indicator of a student’s success in school,” Atkinson said.

The superintendent also stated more attention should be paid to graduation rates than dropout rates, since a student who drops out more than once is counted more than once toward the rate, and to her the emphasis should be on successful completion of school. “Graduation matters,” she stated. “Although it is not necessarily sufficient, it is a passport to getting somewhere.”

Another matter of importance for Atkinson — technology. She made the assertion schools where technology has improved, have seen “dramatic increases in reading and teacher retention.”

The superintendent added giving students the opportunity to take electives matters, but her final point under the “M” was making sure the teachers are effective. “We can have the best of everything,” she said. “But if we don’t have that quality teacher in the classroom we know there will be a problem.”

The final letter in her approach — the “S” — which stands for support. She believes citizens, political and industrial leaders must support education in a variety of ways. “How can you work to make these new teachers feel a part of the community right away?” she asked.

Atkinson added support should also be given to political leaders who want to make changes to educational traditions. “Give support for visionary leaders to make changes that are necessary to take the next step,” she urged the leaders in attendance.

With the EMS approach nearly completely outlined, Atkinson concluded her remarks by touching on the issue of professional development and what it could mean for the future.

Atkinson said, “We need to have professional development so teachers can see what can be, rather than what is.”