This dissertation explores the complex dynamics and conflicts surrounding the privatization of public school services in New Jersey. Through detailed case studies of multiple New Jersey towns, this dissertation examines how local school districts, grappling with funding challenges, consider outsourcing educational support professional roles to cut…

Rural school success is crucial for the Nebraska education system. Without rural schools, many students and families would be without access to high quality educational opportunities. Despite the importance of rural education, the number of rural schools in Nebraska continues to decline, and "one thing is clear from academic research on rural…

In this article, the author presents his thoughts, as a teacher activist, on the school closing process in Philadelphia, particularly the effect of the closing process on Beeber Middle School and its response to the closing. The District's Facilities Master Plan originally called for closing 37 schools, Some schools were removed from the closing…

In June 2011, the Souris River flooded the city of Minot, North Dakota, destroying schools, businesses, and more than 4,000 houses. District administrators, staff, and teachers responded creatively to provide continuity for the students over a two-year period while three schools resided in temporary locations. The author details how the schools…

In 2007, Walter P. Webb Middle School faced a crisis. One evening in January, the superintendent at the time held a meeting at the school in Austin, Texas, to let students, parents, teachers, and community members know that at the end of the academic year, their school would close. Thanks to a new state law focused on accountability, the…

By just about every objective measure, the $88-million in debt that Wartburg College has carried since late 2005 poses a risk. The college's debt load--twice the amount that it takes in annually from tuition and other revenue--has raised red flags with its accreditor, alarmed some faculty members, and left Wartburg with a credit rating just one…

Economic news today is filled with discussion about whether the United States has entered a recession. For the author and other presidents of public colleges and universities, whether the downturn can be labeled a recession is far less important than dealing with the effects of economic conditions on institutions. During hard times, both public…

In economically struggling communities, small private colleges are helping generate development projects in large part as a matter of survival. Unlike research universities and land-grant institutions, which have long viewed regional economic development as central to their missions, most liberal-arts colleges are relative newcomers to this work,…

Underperforming institutions frequently face financial and enrollment challenges, and/or lack a sense of direction and momentum. There is no single or easy approach to turning things around and putting the institution on track to positive development. In 1983, Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, faced declining enrollments, a growing…

This paper reviews research on small rural primary schools in Finland and analyses it under three thematic foci: the relationship between the local rural school and the surrounding community, the small rural primary school as a learning environment, and the teachers' profession in this context. Over 30% of Finnish primary schools are small rural…

At Midway High School (Kansas) and other small schools of the Midwest and West, eight-man football is the biggest show in town, allowing participation by many students and rousing community support for the school. Supporters say the teams are essential to school and community identity. In Kansas, however, special state funding that keeps small…

A discussion of studies regarding 19th century college founding and survival, this paper provides insights into the factors that influence college survival today. It begins with Tewksbury's 1932 history of the founding of American colleges and universities before the Civil War. His book suggested that affiliation with a religious denomination was…

To overcome cynicism, a New Jersey superintendent used his bully pulpit to convene community members in dialog about their schools' future. Enlightened public engagement led to facility improvements, technology infrastructure funding, expanded afterschool programs, critical-issues forums, state-aide advocacy efforts, and a culture of…

When Oneida, Tennessee's K-12 school was threatened with closure by the state fire marshall, the community mounted an extraordinary effort to save it. Challenged by local philanthropists, the community drastically raised its taxes and built three new schools, furnished with the latest equipment and innovative curricula. (SV)

This paper uses data from a survey of K-12 unit schools to fashion a measure of small school sustainability and relate it to variables pertinent to the rural context. Drawing on definitions of sustainable development and sustainable agriculture, this study proposes sustainability as a concept appropriate to schooling in general, and to small rural…