Thirty-nine rural school districts in Pennsylvania responded to a survey designed to study new teacher induction programs. The total sample population of 392 included mentor/support teachers, inductees, and induction coordinators. Based on the survey data and information from 29 districts' documents, this report gives detailed descriptions of…

Pennsylvania is the third most rural state in the nation. The recession of the 1980s devastated the rural economy, leading to a brain drain from rural areas. Nevertheless, there's much that's right about rural schools. Rural schools have pioneered the use of distance education technology. Staff remain in rural schools because they like the…

This brief study is based upon several weeks' observation of schools and mining towns in what are considered the best districts in the bituminous coal region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Alabama, and upon some years' acquaintance with mining town schools. An attempt has been made to point out in a general way the type of school that should…

There is a general demand for information in regard to the condition of drawing and art in the elementary and secondary schools of this and other countries. In partial response to this demand Mr. Royal Bailey Farnum, specialist in drawing and handwork in the New York State Education Department, has prepared this manuscript showing the status of…

This document includes a project description, an evaluator's report, and other information on an itinerant teacher program at Mount Aloysius Junior College (MAJC) in Cresson, Pennsylvania. MAJC, a private institution sponsored by the Religious Sisters of Mercy, enrolls 550 full-time and 450 part-time students. The program, supported by the Fund…

This report summarizes the progress made by schools participating in the Northeast (Pennsylvania) Chapter 1 Program Improvement Task Force during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 school years. The first section gives an overview of project activities, and the second presents a summary of what each school team accomplished in the school years studied. The…

This study investigated the need for distance learning in Pennsylvania's rural schools, examined types of distance learning programs and technology currently being used, and identified factors that could enhance or inhibit the use of distance learning in rural schools. Data collection included (1) a literature search, (2) surveys administered to…

A society becomes more fully conscious of the importance of giving to all its members the best possible education, it also becomes conscious of the great loss arising from truancy of school children and of the need of finding some better means of dealing with truancy. In all cities and towns, as well as in rural communities, school officers and…

A survey of 285 high school seniors in six rural Pennsylvania schools found that student plans to attend postsecondary education were strongly influenced by parents' educational attainment and somewhat influenced by sibling educational attainment. Family financial situation was not a factor in student choice of postsecondary educational options.…

In 2004, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania contracted with Pennsylvania State University to begin a longitudinal study of rural Pennsylvania school students to understand their future aspirations, the factors influencing these aspirations, whether their plans change as they age, and if they attain their goals and plans. The main research questions…

In spite of 1983 legislation intended to equalize financial differences among school districts, Pennsylvania continues to experience inequalities in school funding. A study of Pennsylvania school finance over a 10-year period, 1984-85 through 1993-94, examined differences in spending among the 25 lowest spending districts (Lo-25) and the 25…

This report provides demographic, statistical, and other indicator data related to rural education in the Mid-Atlantic region of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The data are intended to aid state rural assistance councils in developing plans to improve rural schools. One obstacle to consistent policy implementation is the…

Enrollment changes between 1970 and 1976 in the 504 public school districts in Pennsylvania were examined in light of "turnaround" (revival of growth in nonmetropolitan areas). Each district was classified into one of four categories according to the size of the largest urban place in the district, so that enrollment changes within…

I conducted surveys, focus group interviews, and analyzed the yearbooks of fifty four yearbook students from five rural high schools to investigate students' process of yearbook construction and to determine what was meaningful and memorable to them throughout their high school experience. Chang's (1992) construct of an adolescent ethos, including…

This report summarizes the evaluation of a rural school district in Pennsylvania and offers recommendations reflecting the district's goals for school improvement and construction. Specifically, the objectives of the study were to identify curricular needs of the district and individual schools; review and assess district facilities with respect…