I Am a Rural Teacher: Toni Myers – Baker City, OR

For Toni Myers, teaching in a two-room school house is all about relationships. Toni is the Head Teacher at Keating Elementary, a small rural school outside Baker City, Oregon. She has been in education for over twenty years, but her path to teaching started with the influence of her own first-grade teacher.

“I knew I wanted to become a teacher because of Mrs. Martin,” Toni recalls. “She inspired me.” Their connection didn’t end when Toni left her classroom. They continued meeting for lunch for years, with Mrs. Martin’s mentorship shaping the kind of educator Toni would become.

After earning her master’s degree from Eastern Oregon University, which leads Rural Schools Collaborative’s Oregon Hub and supports the Oregon Rural Teacher Corps, Toni began her career at Union Elementary in Union, Oregon. What began as student teaching turned into a series of opportunities: covering a teacher on maternity leave, job-sharing, and eventually stepping into a full-time role. She taught there for five years before budget cuts in 2011 led to a reduction in force.

The following year, she began volunteering at Keating Elementary, a two-room schoolhouse just eight miles from her home. Surrounded by open land and far from town, it was exactly the kind of place she had always hoped to teach. “I always knew that I wanted to teach in a small school,” she says. “I just didn’t know I would be so lucky.”

As enrollment grew, staff advocated to bring Toni on part-time as a paraprofessional. She quickly fell in love with the students and the community. A year later, she transitioned into a teaching role, and eventually became Head Teacher. Now, in a multi-grade classroom, she often teaches the same students for years, sometimes across their entire elementary experience. She has known some families for over fifteen years, teaching siblings and building lasting relationships.

The support from families is constant and visible. Community-led fundraisers like the Dessert Auction and Drive-Thru BBQ make it possible to provide field trips and enrichment opportunities, including visits to the Elgin Opera House and Anthony Lakes Mountain Resort, as well as other experiences, like swim lessons, that expand students’ worlds.

“Our school is the hub of the community,” Toni says. Recently, the school secured approximately $55,000 in grant funding to build a pavilion on the playground, creating a shared gathering space for families and community members, even on weekends and during the summer months.

Beyond the classroom, Toni’s connection to her students runs deep throughout the year. Many students participate in 4-H and FFA, raising animals and participating in the county fair. Toni plays an active role in both, serving as President of the Baker County 4-H Association and Secretary of the local FFA Alumni chapter. Whether at the fair, a 4-H event, or a junior rodeo, Toni shows up for her students.

The students, families, and community work together to address challenges in and out of the classroom. Toni works with students across multiple grade levels, often with widely different academic needs. Without additional staff or specialized resources, she must meet each student where they are while continuing to move the entire class forward.

“Rural schools do not have the extra staff,” she explains. “We are both the classroom teacher and the support system.” She also points to broader challenges, including funding structures and policies that don’t always align with rural realities. Still, she remains clear in her perspective. “The benefits outweigh the negatives.” Students step up to help, support one another, and take responsibility for their learning. In her classroom, older students model for younger ones, and opportunities for growth happen naturally, like when a fourth grader joins a fifth-grade math lesson to stretch their learning.

Rural teaching can feel isolating at times, but she encourages educators to build connections and collaborate. Rural teachers, she says, are always willing to share and support one another. “Reach out,” she advises. “There is no need to reinvent the wheel.”

She also emphasizes the importance of working alongside the community. In places like Baker, the school belongs to everyone, and that shared ownership is part of what makes it strong.

Thank you to Toni Myers for sharing her rural teacher story with Rural Schools Collaborative. Toni was nominated to share her story by RSC’s Oregon Hub Lead. Would you like to nominate someone or share your story as a rural educator? Fill out our online submission form here.

I Am A Rural Teacher shares the stories, experiences, and aspirations of America’s rural teachers. By highlighting the narratives of veteran, new, and future teachers, I Am A Rural Teacher strives to support an education ecosystem where rural teacher-leaders are front and center. This project is supported by the Rural Teacher Corps: A Community of Learners.