CLARKSVILLE, TN – Austin Peay State University’s Center for Rural Education will host its sixth annual virtual conference from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 16. Free registration is now open on the center’s website.
The Rural Education Conference brings together educators, researchers, policymakers, and community leaders worldwide to explore innovations, challenges and opportunities in rural education. With a focus on place-based learning, collaborative partnerships and global perspectives, this event invites participants to reimagine the possibilities for rural communities and their schools.
This year’s theme is “Rooted in Rural: Cultivating Place, Partnerships, and Possibilities.” Dr. Erica Boone, director of the Center for Rural Education, said the goal is to understand how rural districts can use community resources and look toward the future of rural education. In addition, this year’s conference will feature three subthemes: honoring the land and community, building bridges and envisioning the future.
The conference will be Boone’s first since becoming the center’s director in August 2025. A first-generation college student from Carroll County in West Tennessee, Boone brings over 16 years of teaching experience in rural and suburban schools, including West Carroll Special School District.
She said she hopes to show rural educators the similarities they share, even across different states and countries. For the first time, the conference will feature prerecorded sessions from international presenters thanks to a partnership with STAR Scholars Network. These include speakers from Nigeria, Ukraine, Malaysia and Brazil.
“We’re vastly different, but then we also share a lot of the same challenges and some of the same resources,” Boone said. “I thought it was important to understand that the United States isn’t the only rural space and that it’s global. Sometimes, rural educators, we feel like we’re siloed into our own space. And I wanted us to see that many places, even outside the United States, are rural, and they have very similar struggles.”
The conference also includes 18 live and 16 prerecorded presentations from educators across the U.S. Boone added the prerecorded option for those who cannot attend live during their workday.
Topics include supporting literacy in rural schools, student mental health, leveraging AI in the classroom, and more.
As the new director, Boone plans to expand the center’s outreach and impact. One way she is doing this is by recording all Zoom meetings from the conference, which will be made accessible to those who could not attend.
She is also working on building connections across the state so rural districts can thrive despite financial constraints.
“I really hope the center is a way for us to keep in touch with rural educators and the spaces that they live in so that we can provide resources for them,” Boone said.
The Center for Rural Education, housed in the Eriksson College of Education, offers access to professional development, research and other resources to improve teacher effectiveness and student success. For more information, contact rural_ed@apsu.edu.