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.…

Specifically organized for the use of school districts that are located adjacent to each other but across state lines, this manual provides guidelines and procedures for determining the feasibility of sharing services across those state boundaries. The activities specified in the manual utilize school district information that is readily…

The geographic, enviornmental, and demographic conditions in Alaska create extreme difficulties for rural small school teachers who must cope with students with abilities ranging from gifted to retarded. Mainstreaming is taken for granted in Alaska where program development to aid rural teachers in providing special education services to their…

In response to declining enrollment in teacher education programs and a mandate from the Regents of the Montana University System to accept special responsibility as a Rural Education Center for the State of Montana, the Education Division of Western Montana College (Dillon, Montana) in 1980 hired an applied anthropologist to evaluate the existing…

This multi-age integrated teaching unit on outer space was developed by 19 rural teachers (grades K-8) from 12 Gallatin County (Montana) districts to associate all school subjects with a common theme, promote teaching efficiency by focusing on more than one subject at the same time, and increase student excitement. Topics explored by each grade…

The report describes the educational programs that Alaska's 162 small rural high schools offer, identifies educational problems, and examines strategies that districts and schools have devised to strengthen these schools. The schools mostly serve Eskimos and American Indians, have fewer than 100 students, and are located in communities of fewer…

Interviews with principals and school board presidents, site surveys of 32 randomly selected schools, achievement test scores, and in-depth studies by educators provided data describing educational programs, identifying educational problems, and revealing strategies to strengthen the 162 small rural high schools located in Alaskan communities of…

There are ways in which elementary teachers in general and rural elementary teachers in particular can overcome inadequate science preparation and can upgrade the science program resources of their small schools. Parents and children should be involved in obtaining free and inexpensive science-related materials throughout the year. These can be…

Rural America and its schools (which encompass nearly two-thirds of the 15,600 school districts in the United States) face an incredible array of challenges. Changes in demographic, economic, and social conditions are creating a new rural America which is beset by many problems. Rural poverty does not appear to be diminishing and researchers…

The report addresses characteristics and concerns of New Mexico's 19 smallest school districts with a 1981-82 average daily membership ranging from 262 to 60 students. Information was gathered from a Public School Finance Division questionnaire sent to the 19 superintendents; from a December 1981 meeting with 10 of the smallest districts; from…

A study conducted in 1981-82 examined program organization in the secondary division of Western Australia's district high schools. Because small secondary schools throughout the Western World are increasing in number, the study had as its genesis a concern for such schools and an appreciation of the difficulties they face in maintaining viable…

A project was conducted to develop a vocational instructional program designed to meet the vocational needs of students in small school districts. During the first phase of the project, a literature review was conducted to identify the philosophical bases, purposes, and structures that characterize cooperative vocational education programs and…

Key points of presentations are captured in this report of a conference which addressed issues of concern to educators in Alaska's small schools and provided an opportunity for educators to share classroom approaches that work for them. A total of 77 presentations are briefly summarized. Contents are organized under the following headings: (1)…

Presenting information drawn primarily from interviews and visits to abandoned, operating, and restored country schools in Nebraska, this report is part of the Country School Legacy Project, intended to study the role rural schools played in the history of the frontier and to locate and preserve information related to country schools. The report…

The state superintendent, the county superintendent, and the one-room school teacher each contributed to classroom instruction in North Dakota. In 1895, the "School Text Book Law" provided for free text books and school supplies for all pupils; however, the law was not mandatory. Specific courses of study and elaborate handbooks on all…