S05E03 - Making Connections in Rural Math: Jeff Granrud, NREA Teacher of the Year
About this episode
Jeff Granrud, the NREA’s 2025 Teacher of the Year, shares his journey in rural math teaching and emphasizes the importance of community connections and student engagement.
Jeff Granrud, the NREA’s 2025 Teacher of the Year, traces his path to rural math teaching to a timely scholarship nudge from a professor during a tough first year of college, then a formative student-teaching experience under North Dakota Teacher of the Year Fred Strand. Early confidence gave way to a student-driven approach as he adapted to how learners were doing math, listened to “unsung heroes” asking for more challenging courses, and focused on making the subject exciting, whether students love it or hate it. He describes the double-edged nature of technology in rural schools. It lets him share notes and videos easily, but it also siphons students into external online college courses instead of those offered in-house. Cohorts feel familiar across decades, yet more students now insist on being heard, including quiet ones who communicate in unconventional ways. He works to give them a voice. Granrud stays rural because it is home and because he values knowing every student in a high school surrounded by corn and bean fields. His advice to new rural teachers is to immerse themselves in the community, from throwing hay in 105-degree barns to understanding harvest schedules that…
More episodes of National Rural Education Association Official Podcast
- S05E05 - Rethinking Success: Music Education, Community, and the Power of Rural Schools. An Interview with Dr. Daniel Johnson
- S05E04 - School Choice in Rural America: What’s at Stake. An interview with Dr. Preston Green.
- S05E02 - Building Momentum: Anticipating the NFARE 2025
- S05E01 - New Voices in Rural Leadership: Introducing Bill Chapman & Melissa Sadorf
- S04E09 - Empowering Rural Education: Lisa Rahn on Career Readiness, UDL, and eDynamic Learning's Impact on Rural Education.
- S04E08 - Filling the Gap in the Teacher Shortage in Rural Education, an Interview with Annette Rodriguez of Proximity Learning
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