Dr. Allen Pratt With National Rural Education Association

Intro: [00:00:02] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Association Leadership Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:16] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Association Leadership Radio. And this is going to be a good one. Today on the show, we have Dr. Allen Pratt with the National Rural Education Association. Welcome, Alan.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:00:29] Hey, thanks Lee, for having me on today. Excited to discuss our work and share our mission with the folks that are listening.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:38] All right. Well, let’s get right into it. Tell us a little bit about the new V.A. How are you serving, folks?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:00:44] Yes. So just a brief history, really. We were founded in 1907 and we’ve been a rural education standalone association since about 87. So we started in with the original Department of Ed back, way back and then part of NEA and then broke off into our current role. We have 46 state affiliates, we have members in all 50 states, and we’re really strive to be the voice of real schools and communities across the country.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:15] And then so what is the kind of the mission? What is the thing that gets you high fiving your peers each and every day, month or quarter or school year?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:01:25] You know, I think telling the stories of what’s what is good going on in rural communities and rural schools and how the work and how we’re overcoming many barriers and challenges and and really doing a good job educating children and also helping prepare those students for roles in our community, but also roles outside of the community and really the innovative work that’s going on in helping our country.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:53] So how is it different for an educator in a rural community then an urban community or a suburban community?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:02:03] I think it starts with place in context. And I think if you’re teaching in a rural community or rural setting, you kind of feel more involved in that place and setting because it is smaller in most cases. And and you kind of feel a part of that community, part of that family. And I think sometimes in urban areas you’re probably in an area of the city, but it doesn’t mean you’re necessarily a part of that area. And I think rural, you’re the school is a hub of the community and a lot of things kind of factor in far as the school programs and extracurriculars are all really well received and taken in by the community at large.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:42] So in one side they’re probably more immersed in the community, maybe because there’s less things around them and they are kind of the community. They’re more important because there’s fewer. And then but there are challenges to that. The flip side of that coin is maybe there’s less things that you would like to have, maybe there’s less teachers, maybe there’s less opportunity or less, you know, extracurricular things that would be more available in a more maybe population dense environment.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:03:14] Yeah. I think I think you can’t go into this conversation without talking about that. There are deficits in certain areas and there definitely class and course offerings that, you know, in the past have been really challenging because the distance from the school, from a suburban or urban location. But one thing we found going through that is that, you know, distance learning and different ways that we are connecting to other areas and allowing opportunities for for students. And we’re also seeing people move to more rural areas because cost of living and also they can work remotely. So we’re seeing a growth in a lot of those areas as well. But you’re right, some of the amenities that you would be used to having in an urban or suburban area, we don’t have as many some of the secondary amenities, you know, coffee shops and, you know, places to get your haircut or places just to kind of hang out. I think those are a little bit different. And I think we look at it from town to town, region and region to region. But a regionalism approach is the key to this, too, to be able to lock those amenities or secondary amenities in and and grow our communities.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:25] So now, as the leader of this association, is there things that you can do that maybe share some best practices that’s happening around the country, maybe create some economies of scale so that everybody can benefit, maybe from a technological improvement or an opportunity that might be difficult for one town to really implement. But if everybody joins forces together, then it becomes affordable.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:04:52] Yeah, that’s a good point. You know, two years ago, we started a raising rule theme of kind of raising all things up rural and making those connections instead of being a silo, being more connected. And then one of the things we’ve done at our conference the past two years and coming into this fall, our national conference is looking at all aspects that touch rural communities and that region, holistic approach. And and one of those things that are that we highlighted last year and we’re going to have in October at our fall conference is a researcher, sociologist at Minnesota called Ben. His name is Ben Winchester. And Ben’s really good at bringing those numbers and doing just like you talked about. How do we look at a region holistic approach and what’s working in certain towns that we can, you know, think about out noodle on, so to speak, to usually, and then carry it on to another area. And I think that’s kind of what we’ve been doing at Nicaea, is bringing those folks together at the table and really trying to work this out as we move forward.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:50] So what’s your back story? Had you always been involved in this association and then work your way up to a leadership role? Or is it something that just came? The opportunity arose and then you stepped up. How did that come about?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:06:04] You know, I’ve always been in rural education as a teacher or principal, worked in the central office, work for our State Department here in Tennessee, and worked with our state affiliate at Tennessee, Tennessee Rural Education Association, and really started really connecting with the national level about 2010, 2011. And this opportunity came up in 2016. And I thought it was just the time to apply and see if we could work it out so I can be on board.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:31] Now is since the folks that are involved in this are part of these kind of rural ecosystems, wherever they are, spread apart. Is was it difficult to kind of get them to think about, okay, let’s all come together on this and let’s all learn together. Let’s all work together, let’s all, you know, maybe put aside some biases we might have about each other because we’re in different parts of the country. But the the common good here is real and the impact is real if we can all kind of road together.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:07:05] Yeah, I think when you look at it from the sense of you’re right and there are regional kind of differences of rural from Northwest into Montana and then Idaho as compared to the southeast or southwest or northeast. One of the things about Nia, it’s kind of like a family and it’s really an arm of extension of that family, a place where rural educators and rural researchers feel like they belong and they’re part of the group. So bringing them together as a collaborative effort was not hard in the sense of bringing them to Nadia. It is difficult when you’re talking about people that are paid as paid members and they’re volunteering a lot of their time to help us out. So we’re appreciative of all all the work that goes on. But building those state affiliates and also building at the national level is top priority. And it’s really you know, we’ve really seen it grow since 2020, a membership growth like never before. So we’re excited about that, that process for us now.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:06] Do you find that that membership growth is kind of an offshoot of this great resignation, that folks are kind of maybe getting back to their roots? They are realizing that I can use technology, I can live wherever I want, so I don’t have to deal with some of the stuff that isn’t appealing to me about an urban or suburb. And I can go back kind of to my roots and to my home and live the lifestyle I’d like and, you know, have these opportunities that maybe this local community won’t be able to give me, but I can still access kind of the the world.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:08:36] Yeah, I think that’s a good point. I think you look at positives coming out of COVID. I think people wanted information and we were able to provide information and updates and really keep them connected to what’s going on in D.C., but also at their state level through our state affiliates. I think that really helped us out in the sense of membership growth in that that access to information and updates. And we served on several task force and teams from 24th March 2020 and still today. And I think that’s been a positive for our membership base as well. And then also doing a hybrid conference last year, doing an in-person, in-person and online was a big growth for us and it really helped kind of make the connections even deeper and stronger with our our members and all the states.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:26] So any advice for other leaders of associations out there that are maybe have a membership that is spread out and disparate and how you can bring them together? What are some of the kind of do’s and don’ts that you found leading your organization that maybe they can learn from?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:09:46] I think it’s good to have a board that’s really supportive and really has kind of a visionary stance on how we move forward and bringing folks together. I was lucky to inherit a well-run machine from Dr. John Hill, who retired. So that helped. But also, I think going with the the mainstream flow of what your membership base is looking for and what they want from you and staying in our lane, we don’t try to get too much out of the lane. We try to stay involved and be a part of what we’re doing.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:18] So now is there can you share some of your vision of how you would like your tenure as executive director to be like? What are some of the accomplishment that you’re shooting for, the vision that you have of this association?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:10:33] I’d like to have a state affiliate in every state. So we cover all 50. That would be one I’d like to leave with the next person coming in. I also would like to really grow our footprint outside our borders. So more of an international membership as well. So grow our 50 state affiliates, but also look at international because we know rural small communities are everywhere and really grow that connection in space.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:02] Now, is there anything you would like to leave for the layperson who isn’t aware? Maybe they aren’t familiar with their rural part of their state where they live and that some things that you’d like to share for them. So they have a deeper understanding and maybe more empathy of what you’re going through and understand the importance of serving this community as well.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:11:22] I think don’t just assume that parts of your state, rural, don’t assume they are certain ways, meaning politically or socially or whatever. Actually go visit, spend time, find interesting things around those areas. Go visit. Go check it out. Be curious and don’t be judgmental. Be curious and find out what’s going on.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:45] Yeah, that’s a great lesson for everybody, I think, in this day and time. Is there anything that the folks in these rural communities need more than other things? Like I know I would imagine that there are shortages of teachers. I would imagine that there are shortages of certain materials. Is there anything that we as just listeners that lay people could be doing to help our our community in the rural the rural communities?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:12:15] Yeah, I think understanding that the rural areas, rural communities of our country are really, really the backbone of a lot of things that happen in our country. And if they if they’re surviving and excelling, that’s good for our country. And to understand there is a divide, we also we obviously know there’s larger cities and they do have a lot more population and things going on. But but really understand that challenges are there. And even the smallest challenge that you think that an educator in an urban area would think is that’s not a big deal. It’s a big deal in water, rural, rural communities. I mean, teacher shortage is happening everywhere, but it’s a greater impact in rural communities simply because we’re battling distance sometimes, but we’re also battling pay differences that are major in that. And it’s going to you know, we’re trying everything we can to recruit and get folks to come teaching those rural schools and communities. We just we need help. And if you’re in an urban area and you want to try something different, please come out our way. We’d love to have you in the rural areas.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:17] Now, how about the you talked briefly about how important technology has been to help through COVID. Is that one of those things that maybe a person in an urban or suburban area takes for granted that they have WiFi, that they have Internet, that maybe the whole country isn’t benefiting from that level of Internet connectivity, and that maybe there should be more of an investment in the rural communities in this regard.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:13:46] Yeah, I think I think we all have Internet issues, but we do have definitely high quality connectivity is not in all areas of our country, obviously. So the more that schools go back and schools are in session, the schools are pretty well adapted. It’s the communities and that can be affordability but also could be just the right or access to that. And we don’t we don’t have the greatest solution in all of our communities. And some of them won’t be a fixed to hardwire solution. Some of it has to be a remote signal from above, so to speak. So there’s a lot of different ways to do it, and we just need the opportunity to allow that to happen in all of our communities. Should be it should be like utilities, should be like power and water. There should be an opportunity for all to have those services.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:36] Now, are you seeing an opportunity for business to partner with education in these communities as well that maybe isn’t being developed as quickly as you would like?

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:14:47] Yeah, I think the the private business or the workforce industry and partnerships with the rural schools is it’s getting better. And I think it’s always there’s always room for us to to strengthen that bond between the two. And I’ll be honest with you, sometimes the K-12 environment and even the higher ed environment, we don’t make it easy to partner with. Sometimes we have to do a better job of working together to partner and to find out how we can better serve the regional workforce businesses, especially local businesses, and how we can be a better player in our community, so to speak.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:21] Yeah, I would think there’s a tremendous opportunity there to be creative and to work together, especially with these shortages that a lot of folks are having with employees, that if you’re able to partner with an educational institution in your community and kind of grow your own employees and train them while they’re learning and then they have a job after that becomes a win win for everybody.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:15:42] Yeah, that’s a major deal. Partner with the Higher Ed Institute is vital for our rural schools and communities, and that can be done locally, but also regionally is a big part of that as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:52] So, Dr. Pratt, that sounds like you have a lot of a lot on your plate.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:15:58] We’re working hard and, you know, feel free to reach out if you have questions or ways to help or want to inquire about our association. Happy to answer questions.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:08] Well, if somebody wants to learn more, connect with you. What’s the website.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:16:13] Now? Dot net.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:16] Andrea dot net. Dr. Alan Pratt, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Dr. Allen Pratt: [00:16:24] Great. Thanks for having me again.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:25] Appreciate it. All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you next time on the Association Leadership Radio.