scholarly journals Rural School Consolidation

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Bard ◽  
Clark Gardener ◽  
Regi Wieland
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
School Size ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Task Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
School Consolidation ◽  
Policy Makers

The consolidation of rural schools in the United States has been a controversial topic for policy-makers, school administrators, and rural communities since the 1800s. At issue in the consolidation movement have been concerns of efficiency, economics, student achievement, school size, and community identity. Throughout the history of schooling in America, school consolidation has been a way to solve rural issues in the eyes of policy makers and many education officials. Today, faced with declining enrollments and financial cutbacks, many rural schools and communities continue to deal with challenges associated with possible school reorganizations and consolidations. This paper, developed by the NREA Consolidation Task Force, provides a review of the literature on rural school consolidation, defines consolidation, addresses current research and issues related to consolidation with respect to school size, economies of scale, and student achievement, and concludes with proposed recommendations for the NREA Executive Board.  

scholarly journals “From School of Crisis to Distinguished”

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-19
Author(s):  
Molly Fisher ◽  
Ben Crawford
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Student Achievement ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Hierarchy Of Needs ◽  
Accountability Measures ◽  
Promising Practice

Despite conditions that would work against a small and rural school in an impoverish rural area of the United States, Fairway Elementary School has managed to excel in its accountability measures. Through interviews with faculty, staff, teachers, students, and parents of children at Fairway Elementary School a model was developed through the lens of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. It was found that a new administrator at the school started with the physiological needs of the children and are now working within the esteem stage of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Details from each stage of the hierarchy are provided as a promising practice for other rural schools. Fairway Elementary continues to succeed in their efforts to improve not only student achievement, but the culture of their school within an impoverished community.

scholarly journals Rural Exposures: An Examination of Three Initiatives to Introduce and Immerse Preservice Teachers into Rural Communities and Rural Schools in the U.S. and Australia

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Mitchell ◽  
Allison Wynhoff Olsen ◽  
Patrick Hampton ◽  
James Hicks ◽  
Danette Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Initial Exposure ◽  
The U.S

One ongoing challenge that educator preparation programs frequently encounter is their limited ability to authentically expose preservice teachers (PSTs) to rural schools and potential careers in rural school districts. To remedy this concern, faculty at three institutions in both the United States and Australia have developed targeted initiatives designed to provide initial exposure to rural schools, build a rural-intensive element within a practicum course, and establish rural immersion experiences for PSTs. A detailed look at the structure of these programs, a comparison of these three diverse approaches, and recommendations for the expansion and sustainability of these efforts are highlighted within this narrative. Through this comparison of activities being advanced in both countries, the authors provide a better understanding of the options and effectiveness related to initial rural school exposure.

Extending Educational Opportunities in Rural Areas

2010 ◽  
pp. 276-294
Author(s):  
Wallace Hannum ◽  
Matthew Irvin ◽  
Claire de la Varre
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Educational Opportunities ◽  
Qualified Teachers ◽  
Declining Populations

Rural schools in many countries face problems in providing educational opportunities to children and youth for a variety of reasons. There has been the tendency in many countries to migrate to urban areas, often in search of better economic opportunities. The resulting shift from rural areas to urban/suburban areas has placed increased pressures on schools in rural communities. Schools often form the hub of social and civic activity in rural communities. Although they are an important component to rural communities, many rural schools are struggling under the weight of declining populations, declining budgets, staffing difficulties, and increased pressures to better prepare students for the workforce or further education. Rural schools face particular difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified teachers. Faced with problems of providing a comprehensive curriculum and qualified teachers, many rural schools in the United States have turned to distance education. This case explores the use of distance education in the United States through a national survey of distance education use, analysis of barriers to distance education and an experimental study of enhancing distance education through more appropriate training of local facilitators to support students.

The Management of Virtual Classes in School District Digital Intranets

2004 ◽  
pp. 178-191
Author(s):  
Ken Stevens
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Rural High Schools ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Virtual Classes ◽  
Educational Structures ◽  
E Learning

As rural communities and schools decline in size educational policy makers often question their viability. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and in New Zealand, new educational structures based on digital networking, using the Internet, have been developed for the delivery of education to rural schools. Within these electronic educational structures senior students in rural high schools have been provided with extended curriculum choice through a combination of on-site and online instruction. This has led to three challenges: the administration of electronically inter-connected rural schools, the integration of physical and virtual classes, and the need to find pedagogy that is appropriate for e-teaching and e-learning. The new educational structures in rural Newfoundland and New Zealand have extended traditional classrooms in terms of time, space, organisation and capacity.

Contextualized Effects of Racial/Ethnic Matching Between Students and Teachers in Urban, Suburban, and Rural High Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-34
Author(s):  
Sung Tae Jang
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Math Achievement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Asian Students ◽  
Ethnic Matching ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Background/Context Policy makers and scholars have long called for the large-scale recruitment of teachers of color, partly based on evidence highlighting the positive effects of racial/ethnic matching between students and teachers of color on various student experiences and achievements. A more nuanced understanding of racial/ethnic matching effects moderated by contextual factors may help policy makers’ and administrators’ assignment decisions on how to consider student and teacher race/ethnicity. Purpose/Objective/Research Question This study examined the contextualized effects of racial/ethnic matching between high school students and teachers, focusing on the urbanicity of schools in the United States, by asking two main research questions: (1) What are the associations between the racial/ethnic matching of students and teachers, and students’ math achievement and self-efficacy in the United States overall? (2) What are the associations among racial/ethnic matching, math achievement, and math self-efficacy in urban schools, and do these patterns differ for suburban and rural schools? Research Design This study used restricted-use national longitudinal data provided by the NCES High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. A strategy of disaggregating data by schools’ urbanicity and three separate analyses with fixed-effect models for each urbanicity (urban, suburban, and rural) was followed to capture the variations across different schools’ urbanicity and to obtain unbiased estimates of racial/ethnic matching effects. Findings/Results Relatively lower percentages of Black, Hispanic, and Asian students were matched with their same-race/ethnicity math teachers compared with White students in all communities. This study found no supporting evidence for positive associations between racial/ethnic matching and math achievement scores and self-efficacy without considering urbanicity. Within the context of urbanicity, positive associations for math achievement were mainly found in the racial/ethnic matching of Black and Asian students taught by same-race/ethnicity teachers in suburban schools. Conversely, the racial/ethnic matching among Asian students and teachers in rural schools was significantly and negatively associated with both math achievement and self-efficacy. Conclusions/Recommendations By focusing specifically on schools’ urbanicity contexts, policy makers and education leaders should consider the relatively lower percentage of racial/ethnic matching between Black students and teachers in urban and suburban schools, and Hispanic students and teachers in urban and rural schools. As rural Asian populations grow and diversify, Asian teachers from diverse cultural backgrounds are urgently needed in these communities. Contextualized policy solutions that consider school environments and cultural differences and that challenge the one-size-fits-all approach will ultimately better address the specific and diverse needs of students of color living in different communities across the United States.

scholarly journals How do Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Teachers Experience UK Rural School Communities?

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Lee
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
School Communities ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Bisexual And Transgender ◽  
And Bisexual

This article examines how lesbian, gay and bisexual teachers in rural schools negotiate their sexual identities within the workplace. Although there has been progress towards LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) inclusion for teachers in urban and suburban schools, this article shows that their rural counterparts often experience their school communities differently. A questionnaire gathered data from school teachers in the United Kingdom identifying as LGBT. Whilst a small number of transgender, gender queer and non-binary teachers completed the questionnaire, it is important to note that these teachers taught only in urban environments. In rural schools, respondents identified only as lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB). Therefore, LGB is used when referring to the rural respondents in this study and LGBT is used when referring generally to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The experiences of teachers working in rural schools were compared with those working in urban or suburban school settings. Results showed that LGB teachers in rural communities lack the opportunity to speak their identity into existence at school, and often find their personal and professional identities incompatible, leading to low self-worth, depression and anxiety. The article shows that in rural school communities, traditional and conservative rural norms and values are compelling and are often protected at the expense of creating safe and inclusive workplaces for LGB teachers.

scholarly journals Middle Level Education in Rural Communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas D. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
Middle Level Education ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
General Lack ◽  
Middle Level Teachers ◽  
School Improvement Initiatives

Middle level teachers and administrators working in small or rural schools often face unique obstacles in implementing recommended middle level practices. From sharing staff and schedules with other school sites, to inappropriate instructional techniques, to a general lack of understanding of the middle level philosophy, these obstacles can be a source of frustration for school leaders and hinder school improvement initiatives. A better understanding of these issues and the discussion of potential solutions will benefit teachers,  administrators, and policy makers in improving middle level education in rural communities. By building on the positive characteristics found in rural and smaller schools, as well as identifying and addressing the obstacles encountered at smaller schools, middle level leaders can create and maintain distinctive and effective programs for their students.  

Putting rural communities at the center: A conversation with Sky Marietta

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Rafael Heller
Keyword(s):  
Rural Education ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Rural Environment ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
What Works ◽  
Education Improvement ◽  
Rural Student

Sky Marietta, co-author of Rural Education in America: What Works for Our Students, Teachers, and Communities, talks with Kappan about her experiences as a rural student, teacher, and scholar. She describes some of the misconceptions about rural schools and communities and shares some of the assets of living and going to school in a rural environment. As an advocate for a more rural-centered approach to education improvement, she urges researchers, funders, policy makers to learn more about these communities and partner with them to develop leaders within the community.

Solving the “Rural School Problem”: New State Aid, Standards, and Supervision of Local Schools, 1900–1933

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy L. Steffes
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Reform ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
State Aid ◽  
American People ◽  
Local Schools ◽  
School Problem ◽  
State Interventions

“The greatest educational problem now facing the American people is the Rural School Problem,” argued Minnesota county superintendent Julius Arp in 1918. “There is no defect more glaring today than the inequality that exists between the educational facilities of the urban and rural communities. Rural education in the United States has been so far outstripped by the education of our urban centers, that from an educational standpoint, the country child is left far behind in the struggles of life.” This conceptualization of the Rural School Problem, framed within a larger national discussion about the growing disparity between urban and rural life wrought by industrialization, galvanized a broad based coalition of educators, ministers, farmers, agro-businessmen, sociologists, and social reformers into a robust campaign for rural school reform in the early twentieth century. Often lost in recent education histories which have paid much greater attention to urban school reform, this rural school movement had far-reaching consequences, not only for local school governance in the countryside, but for emerging state administration of education. The Rural School Problem, this article argues, helped to stimulate and legitimate significant new state interventions into local schools and define the forms of state aid, regulation, and bureaucracy in a formative period of state development.

scholarly journals Promoting Teaching in Rural Schools

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Ralph
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Schools ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Cooperating Teachers ◽  
College Of Education ◽  
Rural School ◽  
School Divisions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The University

This study extends previous investigations of interns’ and their cooperating teachers’ views of teaching in rural schools, which were conducted in 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. The present paper includes findings from a survey conducted in 2002 of a fifth cohort of interns and their classroom cooperating teachers. It examined the same four items analyzed in the four previous studies (namely: the advantages of teaching in rural areas, the disadvantages of doing so, recommendations about practicum placements for future interns, and advice for these interns), as well as items that also solicited respondents’ views of what the University’s College of Education and the rural school divisions could do to promote both interning and teaching in rural schools. Findings are synthesized and implications are drawn for both the University and the school divisions involved in these studies as well as for other institutions in similar situations—with respect to improving internship and teaching, and to helping promote the stability of rural communities, of which the school is often a key component.

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