This guide is intended to provide assistance to educators interested in developing two-way interactive television networks, addressing the educational and cost issues of this technology. Interactive television (I-TV) offers smaller or rural schools the opportunity to offer a comprehensive program within budgetary restraints. I-TV refers to the…

The number of public high school districts in North Dakota declined from 256 to 186 during 1970-94; 22 school districts were eliminated in the last 5 years of that period. A survey was conducted in eight communities (four pairs) that had gone through school district consolidation and school closing during 1991-94. Community populations in 1994…

This paper describes school consolidation in six small towns in South Nevada County, Arkansas. None of the six schools had the resources to meet the requirements of advanced programs set by the Arkansas Educational Standards Act. School boards met with each community to gather support for consolidation, discussing increased taxes to pay for a new…

This book develops a framework to help policymakers and policy analysts understand and judge policy options, so they can construct alternatives to the reorganization of rural, small school districts. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the book by stating the objectives and providing working definitions for "school district reorganization" and…

High school administrators in sparsely populated rural areas are showing great interest in interactive satellite instruction as a way to resolve teacher shortages and meet rigorous state graduation requirements. Televised classes permitting live teacher/student interaction via satellite communication systems and regular telephone lines provide…

This 1937 compilation of articles covers a wide range of problems within the scope of rural public education. The rural education issues discussed fall under the following general headings: (1) professional leadership; (2) rural school supervision; (3) staff training; (4) rural school district organization; (5) physical plants and equipment; and…

A small rural elementary school in Bigelow, Arkansas has developed the Levelized Educational Advancement Program (LEAP) to offset diminished financial resources, limited classroom space, and reduction in professional staff. The program provides individualized basic education for 116 students in grades 4, 5, and 6, and provides daily enrichment…

To address rural schools' growing need for teachers who can teach in both elementary and special education, Arkansas College has begun a 4-year program of dual certification that will prepare teachers for elementary and special education assignments. Serving a largely rural area, Arkansas College has first hand experience with the problems facing…

Published and unpublished literature is reviewed to identify and describe patterns of delivering vocational agriculture and home economics programs to students in small rural secondary schools. A conceptual model is developed based on patterns found in the literature. Non-school-based, school-based, and a combination of the two are identified as…

Small/rural community colleges should be integral parts of the communities they serve, catalysts for community development, and adaptable to community change. Collaboration with community agencies to develop efficient needs-specific programs and to use community residents as resources offer ways for colleges to provide educational courses and…

An alcohol and drug use education program was developed by teachers and administrators in Mora, a small, isolated Hispanic community in northern New Mexico, in cooperation with the town's public health nurses and a University of New Mexico research team. Pre- and posttests were given to 150 students in grades 7-9 in the Mora Public Schools to…

This facilitator training guide, part of a series of 18 components, describes the needs assessment process as an essential feature of successful rural career guidance program planning. It is designed to provide participants with the skills necessary to conduct a local needs assessment and to identify student needs for career guidance programming.…

To have an effective career guidance and counseling program, it is necessary to know and use pertinent resources. This module provides facilitator guidelines for training staff in the use of three "Rural America Series" handbooks: (1) "Resource Assessment" which depicts a major step in the planning process, (2) "Career…

This module of the staff training series deals with the practical problems that arise when setting a framework for effective staff development, by concentrating on a number of experiential activities for accomplishing the staff development mission. Presented among the strategies for accomplishing total staff development are field trips to work…

This module provides guidelines for planning and implementing both written and oral cooperative agreements with business, industry, and labor. These guidelines will be of help to rural and small school counselors and educators as they plan, implement, and evaluate career guidance programs in rural schools. Characteristics of formal and informal…