Discusses potential of new and advancing distance learning methods for meeting educational reform mandates for increased curricular offerings in rural schools. Describes specific successful programs now using interactive television via satellite, audio teleconferencing, videotapes, and microcomputer linking. Provides names, addresses, and…

Recalls highlights on student days in a one-room country school. Describes school maintenance routines, individualized instruction, school programs, and holiday celebrations. Concludes that alumni of one-room schools are proud of their heritage and feel that the education they received reflects the nation's finest values. (JHZ)

Illustrates complexities involved in establishing school-community partnership in a cross-cultural setting--an Alaskan village of 500 inhabitants. Analyzes outcomes of a three-week multidisciplinary program developed jointly by high school students and teachers which utilized Native community members and resources to study kayak and boat building,…

Discusses factors related to the success of a mathematics program selected for excellence by criteria that included student performance on standardized math tests and the intensity of involvement in extracurricular activities. Outlines characteristics of the school's rural farm community, administrative and teacher leadership, and the role of…

A study of elementary and secondary schools in Montana addressed the relationship between school size and student scores concerning the individual and society, e.g., fitness, citizenship, careers, and environmental issues. Although few correlations were significant, the majority of the results indicated that smaller schools received higher scores…

Suggests that superintendents of small/rural schools make a schedule of meetings they are required to attend so parents, staff, trustees, and school board members will understand why they are often absent from their offices. (MH)

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)

This collection of papers describes research on school and system level change in Chicago's high schools. Papers include "Introduction: Setting Chicago High School Reform within the National Context" (Valerie E. Lee); (1) "The Effort to Redesign Chicago High Schools: Effects on Schools and Achievement" (G. Alfred Hess, Jr. and…

Regardless of roles in society, people will be affected by what happens in the field of education in the coming decades. The impact may be personal and direct as a child or grandchild moves through the schooling process. Or, it may well relate to the quality of employees and, thus, chances for business success. Certainly, the impact the…

This document contains the six issues of "Rural Roots" published bimonthly in 2002. A newsletter of the Rural School and Community Trust, "Rural Roots" provides news, information, and commentary from the Rural Trust and highlights the wide variety of place-based education work happening in rural schools and communities across…

This document contains the 12 issues of "Rural Policy Matters" published in 2002. Issues examine recent educational research on small and rural schools; report on court litigation related to rural school finance and educational adequacy, resources for community action in support of rural schools, and outcomes of school consolidation;…

This essay presents an ethnographer's thoughts on the failure of educational reform following a 4-month observation of a school superintendent and her staff. The educational reform involved implementation of Sizer's model--the Coalition for Essential Schools--in a small, progressive, wealthy school district. The district consisted of a K-12 school…

This case study examines the founding of a high school in a developing rural area in Washington and the school's efforts to serve a changing and diversifying population. Having been expropriated for the war effort in the 1940s, the town of Mattawa (Washington) was rebuilt after the war, but high school students were bused to other school districts…

"Smaller is better" is often the mantra of school leaders with regard to class size, while the benefits of smaller schools are ignored. Benefits of small classes seem obvious--teachers with fewer students could devote more time to each student. Conducted in 1985-89, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) found that…

This volume documents the work that resulted from the Chicago Public Schools Design Competition, explaining research and policies underlying the competition's criteria. The volume has three parts. Book 1, "The Chicago Experience," written by the competition's organizers, describes the competition's process and explains how it allowed community…