My name is Dr. Layne Ilderton, and I am the editor in chief and creator of ruralcore magazine. I grew up in southern Indiana in an agricultural rural town, and taught English in the same community for three years.  I am now a PhD candidate studying English Education at Arizona State University. My formal research focuses on literacy practices of high school students and English teachers in rural settings in the U.S. I have spent my doctoral studies writing and publishing my research findings in peer reviewed, academic journals (for which I am very grateful). However, I soon realized my research in this form is difficult to understand for folks who might not have an academic background.

I concluded that my ultimate goal was to publish and celebrate rural voices in a way where everyone, no matter their level of education, would be encouraged to read it. That is the idea that started ruralcore. 

This spring 2025, you can read my research in The Rural Educator, volume 46, issue 2. 

Around the same time, you can read about my experiences teaching rural eighth grade in Voices from the Middle, volume 31, issue 3.