Among the many qualities or attributes that serve as the framework for school leadership development programs, communication is repeatedly noted as being an important facet of the administrative leader's repertoire (Finch, Gregson & Faulkner, 1992;Gougeon, 1991). It is not enough for a leader to be concerned only about communicating with…

In American popular culture, the word "rural" invokes images of sunny farms and little red schoolhouses--while "urban" means drugs, poverty, and crime. But those who know the reality of both worlds will say that rural schools face many of the same challenges as their urban counterparts. The problems of rural schools are often…

Since the days when the country was dotted with one-room schoolhouses, many changes have taken place in school governance and management. In 1940, there were over 117,000 public school districts in the United States. In 2000, there were fewer than 15,000, even though the student population of the country had doubled in that time. While school…

This article describes how students in rural parts of West Virginia spend up to four hours a day riding buses to far-flung schools, built as part of the state's consolidation drive. As a result, rural communities in West Virginia have fought back by filing lawsuits, electing their allies to school boards, and defeating pro-consolidation bond…

A Charleston (West Virginia) native recounts her sixth grade experiences when her elementary school was closed and the (mostly poor) children were sent to a larger middle-class school. Obvious class distinctions and instances of social discrimination led her to attend college and become a teacher. (SV)

Discusses consolidation as a method to reduce the costs of rural education. Describes the interrelatedness of the rural economy and rural education. Enumerates advantages and disadvantages of small schools. Suggests that educational reform should focus on the unique circumstances of rural schools. (KS)

West Virginia has yet to satisfy its circuit and supreme courts, despite massive efforts to reform the K-12 system and its financial support plan. Reasons for failure include lack of statewide financial commitment to public education, a resistant cultural climate, downsizing of staff, decreasing enrollments, lack of consensus about educational…

Schools in isolated rural areas like Braxton County, West Virginia, can emerge as learning communities and telecommuting villages. Future school mergers will be less common than consolidation of programs and services to improve access for students, their families, and the community. Technology will link schools with a global information network.…

This article defines historical and contemporary rural schools, outlines three sociological and political economy perspectives essential for understanding why school consolidation and rural school reform are abiding themes in rural America, and examines the political and economic context of a vigorous new school consolidation program in West…

A study sought to identify the existence of neighborhood effects on school achievement that are independent of social class and family background among students from poor, rural neighborhoods. Ethnographic material yielded a concept of rural West Virginia neighborhoods in which residents expect their encounters to be friendly, informal, almost…

Details the history of Big Laurel, West Virginia from 1918-1941, 1941-1965, and 1965-1983, noting the effects on education of events in all three periods. Describes the opening, closing, consolidation, and reopening of community schools, and the construction, development, philosophy, and curriculum of the new Big Laurel School. (SB)

The West Virginia School Building Authority has arbitrarily emphasized economies of scale as a requirement for statewide facilities funding. This requirement has forced consolidation in sparsely populated areas with resultant "diseconomies of scale" related to transportation costs, increased dropout rates, and decreased parental and…

The problems of rural students at risk of school failure and incompletion are in many ways similar to problems of urban low-income children and young people. These problems include poverty, unemployed parents, substance abuse, low self-esteem, child abuse, and sexual activity. However, children in many chronically depressed and isolated rural…

The West Virginia School Building Authority (SBA) was created by the state legislature in 1989 to carry out a mandate of the "Recht Decision," which found the state's school financing system to be largely unconstitutional. The SBA was created to sell bonds for educational facility financing and distribute the money to county school…

In 1991 West Virginia's governor announced a 10-year statewide plan that would close 245 schools, primarily in poor, small, and rural communities, and replace them with larger, more "efficient," more urban facilities. The controversy surrounding West Virginia school closings stems from the clash of two sets of beliefs and values. The…