Based on data from a 1982-1983 study and from other sources, the average annual salaries of teachers in rural schools were compared, by geographical region, with salaries for all public elementary and secondary teachers in the United States, and the average beginning salary for rural teachers was compared with regional data for beginning public…

This study was designed to correct misperceptions many Americans have concerning one-room schools and Old Order Mennonite and Amish education in the United States. It was also intended to quantify the number of U.S. public and private one-room schools. The paper briefly reviews the history of Amish and Old Order Mennonite schools. Recent research…

Small schools (with enrollments of 300 or less) are being rediscovered as models for effective schools. Currently 26.9% of America's school systems enroll over 500,000 students in more than 26,000 small schools staffed by 50,000 teachers. Small schools have pioneered many educational "innovations": non-graded classrooms, individualized…

Staff development is the small school district's key to survival in the 1980's. Although small rural districts may face problems like isolation and limited resources, they have distinct advantages. Chapter 1 of this guide provides a list of advantages, which include close contact between teachers and administrators, strong ties to the local…

Education Service Centers do now or can constitute a significant delivery vehicle to help solve one of the stickiest issues facing the Texas Legislature--the equalization of educational opportunity. Remoteness, size of school districts, and taxable valuation all impact the individual district's ability to provide equal educational opportunity.…

Because it incorporates many of the best practices of inservice education, the use of computer/video linkage for inservice education programs in small rural schools holds great promise for improving both the method of delivery and the content of professional development activities. Studies of staff in small rural schools consistently find…

Recruiting and retaining qualified, competent teachers is an ongoing problem for small school administrators. The reasons for high turnover are numerous and complex, e.g., preservice preparation is presently more suitable for large, metropolitan schools than for small, rural schools; career orientations fail to recognize that experience in small…

Career ladders have been proposed as one way to address problems rural and small schools have in recruiting academically able and talented teachers, recognizing them once they start teaching, and retaining them in the teaching role. While there are differences in career ladder plans, there are also some common features, e.g., predetermined…

The 11 items in this annotated bibliography are entries in the ERIC system concerning the effects of school size. Research studies cited center on existing and recommended sizes for schools; relationships between the size of schools and districts and the costs of education; economies of scale; and the effects of school size on achievement, student…

Developed by the Amity (Oregon) School District 4-J (a small, rural farming district consisting of two outlying feeder elementary schools, one elementary school in town, and the high school), the Citizens Advisory Committee Constitution consists of seven sections. Statements by the superintendent and school board chairman regarding the role of the…

Attitudes expressed in Iowa's news media recently show a change of attitude from an urban or metropolitan slant to a more pro-rural, pro-agrarian point of view. Iowa's major daily news medium is now saying that the state's character, culture, economy, values, beliefs, and social attitudes are in jeopardy, and Iowans should have the moral and…

In order to determine similarities and differences in funding programs for rural United States schools, data published in the ERIC/CRESS publication entitled "Special Funding for Small and/or Isolated Rural Schools" was analyzed. Twenty-five of the 49 states for which data were collected have no special funding provisions for small…

THIS DOCUMENT EXPLAINS THE INDIVIDUAL APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF UNITED STATES HISTORY TO EIGHTH GRADERS AT MEEKER, COLORADO. THE PROGRAM IS STRUCTURED SO THAT AFTER A STUDENT DEMONSTRATES MASTERY OF A CHAPTER THROUGH A SHORT OBJECTIVE TEST, HE THEN INVESTIGATES ENRICHMENT MATERIALS SUCH AS FILMSTRIPS, TAPES, RECORDS, BOOKS, AND PICTURE…

THIS REPORT FROM TEXAS WESTERN COLLEGE CONCERNS THE PROBLEMS INVOLVED AND CURRENT PRACTICES IN TEXAS SCHOOL PURCHASING DEPARTMENTS. TWO SURVEYS WERE CONDUCTED BY THE COLLEGE TO INVESTIGATE TWO AREAS. ONE WAS TO DETERMINE SUPERINTENDENTS' PURCHASING PRACTICES BY SCHOOL SIZE, WHILE THE SECOND WAS TO DETERMINE, ALSO BY SCHOOL SIZE, THE LEVEL AND…

Developed to meet the needs of small rural school districts, this guide assists local education agencies in undertaking an institutional self-evaluation of their compliance with Title IX regulations. It also attempts to help them modify policies and practices where necessary. The materials have been developed to allow for modification to unique…