Bordering on North Carolina, the Dan River region of Southside Virginia is a largely rural area south of the state capitol, Richmond, and 135 miles east of Virginia Tech's main residential campus in Blacksburg. The structural problems evident today in this expanse of wooded areas, fields, small cities, and towns were born, in large measure, of the…

This document describes the industrial decline in a small Midwestern town and its effect on education and the local economy. While some people refused to see a problem, others saw that the decline would continue until the town school closed and community services dwindled. The paper calls for new solutions to rural education and economic problems,…

The digital divide remains a formidable issue in rural areas where the only broadband access to the Internet may be at public schools or city governments. As the only locations in rural areas with adequate technological resources, schools, libraries, health facilities, and agricultural extension facilities can be places where citizens learn about…

Research on social capital and functional communities provides much needed information on the relationship between rural schools and their communities, and its impact on community viability. Schools are critical to the social and economic viability of rural communities; research suggests that social capital in rural areas has decreased…