Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods recently announced the establishment of a new Office of Rural Education and Innovation at the state Department of Education. The office is intended to provide a continued, cabinet-level voice for the needs of rural Georgians and their communities in K-12 education policy, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is a top priority of my administration to strengthen and bring greater opportunities and economic prosperity to rural Georgia,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “The Georgia Department of Education’s new Office of Rural Education and Innovation will support those efforts to renew and revitalize rural Georgia and ensure our state remains the best place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Established using federal stimulus funds, the office will work to address the needs of rural Georgians and their schools by focusing on improved connectivity; teacher retention and recruitment; resources and funding; and educator development. It also will establish state and community partnerships to channel resources and identify funding opportunities within the Department of Education to support the state’s most rural areas.
Dr. Bronwyn Ragan-Martin, who has more than 31 years of education experience in Georgia, has been tapped to lead the new office as deputy superintendent for rural education and innovation beginning in October. Ragan-Martin most recently served as superintendent of the Early County school system, a district with about 2,000 students and 300 employees in Southwest Georgia, and as president of the Georgia School Superintendents Association from 2019 to 2021. Before that, she was the system’s assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction and coordinated human resources, gifted education and leadership development.
Ragan-Martin holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Mount Holyoke College, a master’s in English education from Georgia Southwestern College and an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction from Valdosta State University.