High-poverty schools in rural areas and small towns are under attack from state policy makers who want to consolidate these schools in order to save money. In addition to calls for consolidation, rural schools also are threatened by unfair and inadequate funding formulas.

The rapid growth of charter schools has encouraged innovation and led to new models of schooling. Foremost among these are cyber charter schools where students learn from computer-based lessons beyond the walls of the traditional schoolhouse setting. The authors present the case of cyber charter schools in Pennsylvania. They describe how cyber…