Karl N. Stauber proposes three goals for rural development policy: helping the rural middle class survive, reducing concentrated rural poverty, and sustaining and improving the quality of the natural environment. In contrast to other visions, he advises policy that focuses on rural places rather than rural economic sectors such as agriculture,…

Educational research, unfortunately, often focuses on finding statistical differences between overall means or averages. Media reports of research routinely present those differences and little else. This paper discusses the importance of considering the spread of the data in addition to the center and how this is relevant to research focused on…

Responding to questions regarding what research tells us about the importance of school size to student achievement, this report reviews recent research on the topic. It concludes that to the extent that small schools are better able than large schools to create forward planning conditions, then small schools appear to be a promising strategy. The…

North Carolina has become a leader in the national movement toward creating new, smaller high schools that can prepare students for the 21st century demands of higher education and the workforce. Governor Easley has established 13 (with 21 additional schools scheduled to open this Fall) Learn and Earn schools to provide students with at least…

Inclusionary schools occur through purposeful leadership, and the principal is the key to lead others through the process of change. This pilot study surveyed 155 principals of small rural schools in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming to gather information about the ways in which principals administer special education programs in their…

Small, rural schools may have a limited range of services available onsite for students with intensive special needs. This report describes the philosophical approaches and situational strategies for these students, implemented successfully by staff at two small rural schools in Maine. Small rural schools have the most difficulty in programming…

This report provides brief case studies of 22 public school buildings in 12 states, representing urban, suburban, and rural communities, including both district-run and charter public schools. The studies demonstrate the schools' ability to improve academic achievement and behavior in safe, nurturing, and stimulating environments. The researchers…

This report summarizes a series of studies on school size, poverty, and student achievement. These studies analyzed 29 sets of test scores from various grades in Georgia, Ohio, Montana, and Texas to examine the relationship between school-level performance on tests, school size, and community poverty level. The studies found that as schools become…

Nebraska's small schools have been shortchanged by recently enacted school finance policies. LB 1114, which limited property tax levy rates, and LB 806, which changed the state aid distribution formula, were first implemented for the 1998-99 school year. These measures were intended to force cuts in school expenditures, especially among smaller,…

Current school finance policy in Nebraska rests on the premise that higher costs due to small school size should not be subsidized by state funds unless there is no consolidation alternative. This report aims to reframe the school size debate by demonstrating the excellent performance of Nebraska's small schools in high school completion and…

This paper provides an overview of the interdisciplinary program at Auburn High School, a small high school in Riner, Virginia, and describes a recent schoolwide project to construct an Elizabethan gazebo and Shakespeare garden. To develop interdisciplinary units, the teachers begin by brainstorming ideas, looking for overlapping content. The next…

Previous studies in seven states have shown that school and district size consistently mediated the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and student achievement, with results critically relevant to state-level policymaking. The present study examined how the relationship between size and achievement varied in Arkansas schools and…

In Montana, there are 151 small rural schools that constitute elementary independent districts with either a supervising teacher or a teaching principal as the head of the school. In fall 1998, a survey of all 151 schools examined enrollments, budgets, staff, salaries, and benefits. Enrollments ranged from 2 to 174 students; 83 schools had fewer…

This report describes the legislative response to state supreme court rulings on rural and small schools and districts. The paper addresses the following questions: How have rural and small schools and school districts been affected by state supreme court rulings and subsequent legislation? What has been the experience of rural and small school…

There is an evolving paradigm shift in the field of rural education away from emulating urban schools and toward a pedagogy of place. This shift is influenced by the following trends: 1) the rediscovery of the unique features of rural and small schools as strengths to be nurtured, not problems to be solved; 2) the recognition that centralized,…