Authors: Bradley Carl and Jenny Seelig

November 2026, 56pp.

Abstract: This report, the third in a series focusing on Wisconsin’s rural educator workforce, examines a state-funded program in Wisconsin (the Rural School Teacher Talent Pilot Program, or RSTTPP). This program provides financial incentives through the state’s educator preparation programs (EPPs) for preservice teachers to complete practicum and/or student teaching requirements in rural schools (as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics).

RSTTPP, which is funded by an annual legislative appropriation of $1.5 million, was launched in 2017–2018 to help address longstanding challenges facing rural districts (which comprise nearly three-fourths of the state’s 420 local school districts) in terms of recruiting and retaining teachers.

Our report is the first to document not just levels of participation in the program (at the individual stipend recipient, rural school district, and EPP levels), but also

• current student teachers’ perceptions of, and RSTTPP “alumni” reflections on, the program’s impact on their career trajectories; and
• empirical data on how many stipend recipients follow up their student teaching experiences in rural schools by either accepting and/or remaining in teaching positions in rural communities.

Keywords: rural schools, educator shortages, teacher recruitment

Read the full working paper: Addressing Rural Teacher Shortages With State-Funded Student Teaching Stipends: Evidence From Wisconsin (PDF)