In March 2020, COVID-19 resulted in school closures for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year across the nation. Because of the pandemic predictions regarding the 20202021 school year, concerns regarding curricular offerings and delivery surfaced quickly. A non-experimental quantitative comparative study was conducted in two neighboring…

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…

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…

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…

Nationwide, over seven million students are chronically absent from school each year, impacting academic success and future job earnings. Latinx high school students have among the highest absentee rates across all racial groups. Using critical sensemaking theory, this qualitative case study examines how school, district, and community leaders…

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…

Research has highlighted the significant decline in teachers' implementation of newly acquired teaching practices following professional development (PD), primarily attributed to the absence of follow-up support. Even science teachers who have participated in intensive PD programs often encounter challenges in integrating new teaching practices…

Although recognized as a highly effective subject-acceleration intervention, accessibility of Advanced Placement (AP) coursework is not equally available to all students. This lack of access may contribute to documented disparities in AP participation between rural schools and their urban and suburban counterparts. The current study explores the…

This article reports the preliminary results of a multiple case study that investigated how, during the Spring 2020 and the following school year, old and new areas of EL educational inequity revealed themselves in two rural school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data presented here focuses on multilingual immigrant/refugee parents of…

Relationships play a strong role in rural communities and education, and multiplex relationships--relationships that can overlap due to multiple contexts of interaction in a rural school--are unique to the rural setting. This study focused on multiplex relationships and their impact on science classroom performance, as measured by science…

This quantitative study explored the statistical relationship between American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) leadership competencies and data-driven decision making (DDDM) literacy among rural community college leaders in the Midwest. Specifically, the authors examined how AACC community college leadership competencies may predict the…

This study examined how U.S. entry into World War I and related pedagogical reforms of the early twentieth century impacted elementary social education at a local level. Analysis of state curriculum guides, records from the collection of a rural school educator, report cards, and daily attendance registers for four counties indicated that…

In an effort provide access to devices and prepare students for the future, a small rural high school committed to becoming a high-tech school. Data collected the first year using the IPI-T process suggested teachers were typically the users of the technology, students were often disengaged, and teachers were asking students to participate in…

A growing national consensus shows the need for educational systems to prepare students to succeed in working environments and society of the 21st century. Recognizing this need, Iowa school districts have invested in technology to assist in addressing the expectations of the Iowa Core Standards related to 21st century skills. The rural districts…

In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…