|
52 :
37
U.S. Department of Education: Using Federal Funds to Support Rural Districts and Schools
Students, families, and teachers in rural districts and schools face unique challenges to ensuring a well-rounded education that prepares students for a career of their choosing. The Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) aims to support rural communities through funds available for use on a wide range of allowable activities. This session will review the components of the REAP program, stressing the flexible nature of the funds awarded and highlighting most common intended uses of funds to maximize their impact at the local level. The session will also spotlight two states with significant rural populations that were awarded Education Innovation and Research grants in the most recent competition, emphasizing their statewide approaches to addressing the needs of rural communities.
- Information about SRSA and RLIS and the alternative funds use authority
- Sharing best practices from EIR grantees
This talk was presented at:
2026 National ESEA Conference
February 2026
in
Denver, CO
Speakers
Victoria Hammer
Victoria Hammer has been with the U.S. Department of Education for almost 18 years and worked on a variety of programs and initiatives during that time. Recently, Victoria had the opportunity to lead the Rural, Insular Areas, and Native Achievement Programs unit. She is a lifelong learner and embraced the opportunity to dig into new and meaningful grants that serve the needs of students in rural communities, the outlying areas, Hawaii, and Alaska.
Dr. Julie Murgel
Dr. Julie Murgel is the Chief Program Officer for the Montana Office of Public Instruction. Julie leads the research, planning, development, and implementation of educational programs within the state agency. She oversees agency initiatives, helps secure and manage program funding, and strategically aligns resources to achieve the agency’s goals. She uses a data-driven approach to guide her work and has a passion for innovation and cultivating leadership and empowerment in others. Currently, Julie is supporting innovation in assessment through the Montana Aligned to Standards Through Year Assessment (MAST). She is also launching an Education Innovation Research (EIR) grant to extend the state’s early literacy initiative and accelerate learning by adding virtual live high-impact tutoring for high needs students, particularly in Montana’s rural and tribal communities.
Emilie Lehrer
Emilie Lehrer serves as a Program Officer for the Rural Education Achievement Program in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) at the U.S. Department of Education. She works with the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program and the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program, providing technical assistance and ongoing program support to grantees.
Jayne Green
Jayne Green is the Coordinator of Federal Programs for Division of Elementary and Secondary Schools at the Arkansas Department of Education. She has been with the Department for 15 years. Jayne started her career teaching Special Education in a small rural school in Arkansas. She has served in numerous roles in public education, including special education, 5th grade teacher, K-12 Counselor, Middle School English / Social Studies teacher, and Elementary Assistant Principal. Upon her retirement from public school education in 2011, she went to work for the State Agency. She is now in her 46th year of service. Jayne and her husband Rick (who currently serves as a school superintendent in Arkansas) will be married for 50 years in September. They have four children and nine grandchildren.
ESEA Network
The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators is dedicated to building the capacity of education professionals to provide disadvantaged children with a high quality education. Their ESEA Network website provides a host of resources to educators at all levels.
Connect With Us
 |
 |
 |
 |
Contact Us
admin@eseanetwork.org | 800-256-6452
532 North Franklin Street | Fort Bragg, CA 95437
About Us
The National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators (formerly the National Title I Association) is dedicated to building the capacity of education professionals to provide disadvantaged children with a high quality education. Their ESEA Network website provides a host of resources to educators at all levels.
Connect with Us
|
|
|
|
