Much progress has been made in the quest for better rural schools. In 1977, People United for Rural Education (PURE) began its work as an advocate for rural education and small schools. In 1979, PURE was notified that it was to receive the National Volunteer Activist Award. In 1980, the Rural/Regional Education Association became the Rural…

The rural work ethic, a strong sense of community togetherness, and the absence of class distinction help rural schools avoid the politics that often stand in the way of education in larger urban and suburban schools. Factors contributing to successful schools include clear goals, good principals who know how to motivate faculty, faculty who know…

During 1976-77, 42% of U.S. schools operated with fewer than 600 pupils and 27% operated with fewer than 300 pupils; Iowa had 181 K-12 public school systems with fewer than 300 pupils in 1977-78. All of Iowa's smaller school systems were located in the more sparsely populated rural areas of the state, had higher than average per pupil assessed…

The superintendent of central Iowa's CAL Community School District describes how his small district maintains quality community-based education despite financial problems and federal/state neglect of rural schools. He notes that Iowa citizens have established a rural education lobbying group. Part of a theme issue on rural education. (SJL)

An overview of the status of rural school financing revealed three major reasons why rural schools are facing major problems in financing today: (1) school reforms have generally failed to address the specific needs of rural and small schools; (2) researchers have failed to recognize small school differences in their collection, classification and…

Although rural America and rural education have a traditional heritage of diversity, collectively rural schools share several unique features. Most rural school districts are small, they are sparsely populated, they are likely to be isolated from any major urban center, and they are both an extension and a reflection of the community they serve.…

The 1971 Iowa School Foundation Plan for Financing Education was created to achieve goals of quality education, equity in financing education, efficiency, evaluation of local districts and the state system, and local flexibility. To analyze Iowa's success in meeting those goals, information gathered from 18 rural school districts and data from the…