Person-organization fit theorizes perceptions of congruity between applicants and organizational characteristics in hiring decisions. This study extends person-organization fit to teacher selection in rural districts, hypothesizing that officials with strong rural values favor applicants who reflect the community's sense of place. Rural values of…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to identify, investigate, and describe factors that contributed to the academic success of Phelps High School, a rural, isolated, Appalachian high school in Pike County Kentucky. The academic index of the school in 2000 was 48% and in a six year period the academic index of the school improved to 94%.…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of instructional tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Math experts have developed formative assessment lessons (FALs) that teachers can incorporate throughout the year's curriculum.…

In the fall of 2004, the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) convened members of the School Leadership Learning Community (SLLC) and invited guests for three invitational, issue-focused meetings. Each of the meetings was conducted as a modified Select Seminar (www.casdany.neric.org/history3.htm) and explored an issue specific to preparing…

To overcome barriers faced by rural educators, a research team at the University of Kentucky has combined a model of distance learning with a hands-on, inquiry approach to the instruction of middle school-level physical science. The project, entitled "Newton's Universe," measures teachers' and students' outcomes through surveys,…

This study examined factors associated with tobacco-free policies and tobacco cessation in schools serving children in grades 6 to 12 in a tobacco-growing state using a cross-sectional telephone survey of school administrators from public and private middle and high schools (N = 691), representing 117 of the 120 Kentucky counties. Trained health…

Although federal law requires all public schools to be smoke free, lack of compliance with the smoke-free policy is commonly reported. The aims of this study were to describe the indoor fine-particle (PM[subscript 2.5]) air pollution in a rural high school and surrounding public venues. This cross-sectional, nonexperimental study was conducted in…

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested in the development and dissemination of instructional tools to support teachers' incorporation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into their classroom instruction. Literacy experts have developed a framework and a set of templates that teachers and other educators can use to develop content…

Traditionally, rural students experience urban disruption during the many years of education and training in urban environments before choosing a practice site. Regional rural campuses that allow students to live and work in small towns during the last 2 years of medical school are one strategy to address this issue. Purpose: To report the…

This article shares findings from an exploratory case study about an advanced school leadership development program designed specifically for practicing principals and administrator-trained teachers. The program was designed to help a high-need rural district transform its principalship from school management into learner-center leadership while…

Examined the development of the Kentucky nongraded primary program at the state level and in six rural elementary schools from 1991 through 1998. Findings show changes teachers made in response to the program mandate and reveal issues that hampered implementation, including entrenched ideas about grade divisions. (SLD)

Recent research does not provide clear evidence that rural schools are inferior to urban schools. For example, one prominent study finds that students in rural schools perform less well than their urban counterparts, but other studies using the same national data set have reached divergent conclusions. The present study reassesses the issue using…

The purpose of this study was to provide information on the state of Hispanic education in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The data were obtained from Kentucky school Superintendents or their designees in 175 public school districts through a survey (12 questions) mailed in late spring, 2007. Responses were received from 136 school superintendents…

Facing financial difficulties, the Webster County Public School System in rural Kentucky implemented a four-day school week to save money on transportation and staffing. The district's research in the experience of other rural districts had indicated that such a calendar change could increase efficiency and also yield some unexpected benefits.…

Using a hypothetical example of how a job placement program was developed in a small, rural community, this booklet is intended as a guide to aid local high school systems in the development of job placement programs. Written in a question/answer format, it focuses on four major objectives of a job placement program: To provide information to…