New MSU Program Helps Student Teachers Form Connections With Rural Communities

When Montana State University education student Mariah Leum considered moving to a new Montana community to complete her student teaching, she felt nervous and anxious. But thanks to a new offering at MSU, Leum said, those feelings were eased right away.

Leum, who is from Three Forks, is completing her student teaching this semester at the elementary school in Shelby, a community of about 3,000 people in north-central Montana. She is one of seven students from the MSU teacher education program based in Shelby or nearby Cut Bank as members of the university’s first rural student teaching pod.

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