Bringing Research into the Classroom (BRIC) engaged rural K-12 science teachers in sustained, mentored science research. BRIC's goal was to equip teachers with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to provide high-quality biomedical research opportunities for K-12 students and teachers. Programmatic elements included authentic, place-based,…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. Researchers report that at least half of public schools are rural in 12 states (i.e., Montana, South Dakota, Vermont, North Dakota, Maine, Alaska, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wyoming, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Mississippi) (Showalter et al., 2019). Providing quality education to all rural students is a…

The School Questionnaire was administered as part of the 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is a state and nationally representative sample survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The selected school samples include about 10,600 traditional and…

Intent on building inquiry-based digital science learning experiences for K-5 students, this research study began with the formation of a tight partnership between state and local educational agencies, higher education, and university scientists and researchers. The primary focus of this partnership was to deliver high-quality, inquiry-based…

Fourteen years ago, as the Director of the Montana Rural Education Center at the University of Montana-Western, the author undertook the first comprehensive study of rural teachers' salaries and benefits in the state. This study is the fourth in fourteen years. Not only does it provide a clear picture of the salaries and working conditions of the…