scholarly journals One Head – Many Hats: Expectations of a Rural Superintendent

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Copeland
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Board Members ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
Administrator Training ◽  
School Superintendents ◽  
School Board Members ◽  
Rural School Administration

Although urban and suburban school superintendents serve the largest group of students in terms of sheer numbers of schoolchildren, there are actually more superintendents serving in rural school districts in the United States. I examined the expected roles or “hats” of the rural superintendent by collecting data from several districts located in NE Colorado. Interviews of school board members and superintendents provided data, which suggested that the expected roles of a rural superintendent are multiple and varied. Five major themes or “hats” emerged that rural communities expected their superintendent to wear. These themes or hats included those of manager, planner, listener, communicator, and community involvement. Included in each of these major themes were many subcategories of hats that are forced on the heads of rural superintendents by their communities and by events that occur daily. This study suggests that there are differences in the expectations of rural superintendents from those serving urban or suburban districts. Administrator training programs at colleges and universities might better serve those students aspiring to rural superintendent positions by offering a specialization in rural school administration or at least offering a separate course designed to cover these unique expectations.

scholarly journals Rural Superintendents’ Responses to COVID-19: Navigating Local Control During a Public Health Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad R. Lochmiller
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
School Board ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Crisis Leadership ◽  
Board Members ◽  
School Superintendents ◽  
School Board Members ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Individual

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted a variety of responses by organizational leaders throughout the United States and internationally. This paper explores the responses of five rural school superintendents who work in a conservative Midwestern state. Using an exploratory qualitative research design, the study analyzes interviews and documents collected remotely to adhere to current public health guidelines. The study adopted a crisis leadership perspective to explore how rural school superintendents were responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and managing the politics associated with it. Findings suggest that superintendents were acutely aware of their community’s current political stance toward the COVID-19 pandemic and were especially responsive to the individual political philosophies of their elected school board members. The superintendents did not uniformly adopt crisis leadership behaviors to respond to the circumstances created by the pandemic. Rather, superintendents responded in ways that managed the political perspectives held by their elected board members and sought to reconcile differences in the board members’ political perspectives that precluded action. As part of this reconciliation, the superintendents leveraged public health information to shape and at times change elected school board members’ perspectives. This information helped the superintendents overcome political perspectives that led some of the most conservative board members to resist widely accepted public health guidance. Implications for the field of educational leadership, research on rural superintendents, and potential revisions to superintendent preparation are discussed.

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.

School Violence among Children and Adolescents in Rural Communities

2016 ◽  
pp. 78-94
Author(s):  
Michelle F. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
School Violence ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
School Shootings ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Rural School Districts

School violence gained increased attention after highly publicized school shootings occurred in a variety of different school districts across the United States. Some of these school shootings occurred in nonurban communities, suggesting that such violence can occur in all areas, even those originally thought to be immune to such violence. As a result of these incidences, more research was conducted on school violence in nonurban communities and it quickly became clear that children and adolescents from rural school districts were often exposed to school violence at similar levels as those children and adolescents from urban areas. The aim of this chapter was to review research concerning school violence among children and adolescents in rural school districts, and to make recommendations for policy and school violence reduction programs as well as future research.

scholarly journals The Fiscal Effects of Tax Increment Financing on Rural School Districts: The Case of Iowa

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842199114
Author(s):  
Phuong Nguyen-Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Property Tax ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
Tax Increment Financing ◽  
Tax Base ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Development Tool

Tax increment financing (TIF)—an economic (re)development tool originally designed for urban cities—has been available to rural communities for decades. This is the first study to focus solely on TIF in rural school districts, to examine TIF effects on school districts’ property tax base and rates, and to conduct event-study estimations of TIF effects. The study finds that TIF has mostly positive effects on rural school districts’ property tax base and mixed effects on property tax rates, and that TIF-induced increases in tax base come primarily from residential property and slightly from commercial property. The study’s findings assert the importance of returned excess increment if rural school districts in Iowa and many other states are to benefit from TIF.

Using Community Conversations to Inform Transition Education in Rural Communities

2020 ◽  
pp. 002246692095033
Author(s):  
Erik W. Carter ◽  
Michele A. Schutz ◽  
Shimul A. Gajjar ◽  
Erin A. Maves ◽  
Jennifer L. Bumble ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Community Partnerships ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
Youth With Disabilities ◽  
Transition Outcomes

Nearly one quarter of all youth with disabilities attend rural schools. Supporting the successful postschool transitions of these youth can be a complex and challenging endeavor. In this study, we used “community conversation” events as a methodology for identifying the practices and partnerships needed to improve transition outcomes for students with disabilities in rural school districts. We analyzed the diverse ideas ( n = 656) for preparing youth with disabilities for adulthood generated by a cross section of the local community in five participating rural school districts. Although practices related to employment and family engagement were prominent, fewer suggestions addressed postsecondary education and community living. Perceptions of existing school–community partnerships varied within and across districts. We offer recommendations for research and practice aimed at strengthening the capacity of rural communities to prepare their students with disabilities well for life after high school.

Inextricably Linked

2016 ◽  
pp. 143-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Snapp ◽  
Stephen T. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Studies ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Board Members ◽  
School Board Members ◽  
Key Informants ◽  
Inclusive Curriculum ◽  
Community Activists ◽  
Approach To Teaching

Evidence suggests that inclusive curriculum has positive implications for students’ learning, well-being, and safety. Types of inclusive curricula, namely ethnic studies and LGBTQ-inclusive curricula, however, are currently being contested in schools throughout the United States. Twenty-three key informants (e.g., teachers, school board members, school administrators, community activists) in Arizona and California shared their three primary reasons that an inclusive curricular and pedagogical approach to teaching is important: (a) students are reflected in their learning, (b) violence against others lessens and school becomes hospitable to learning, and (c) students’ learning improves due to greater academic engagement and connection. While many key informants saw ethnic studies and LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum as “inextricably linked,” several indicated that the two classes are viewed as separate and distinct. The need for curriculum that aligns with social justice and intersectionality frameworks as well as coalitional advocacy is discussed.

Special Education Policy Change

2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda L. Barrio
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
English Language ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Disproportionate Representation ◽  
Rural School Districts

Research suggests that disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students in special education has been a recurring topic of concern in the field of special education within the United States. Over the past few years, this concern has shifted to focus on the disproportionate representation of English Language Learners (ELLs) in categories of mild to moderate disabilities, specifically within the category of learning disabilities. Although improvements in educational policy have been made through federal legislation, local rural school districts continue to battle this concern, especially those in rural areas. The following article focuses on the recommendations for development, implementation, and evaluation of local policy change to improve the disproportionate representation of ELL students within rural school districts.

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 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.  

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