The evaluation of the Texas Rural Technology (R-Tech) Pilot sought to understand how districts implemented R-Tech grants, the effects of implementation on student and teacher outcomes, as well as the cost effectiveness and sustainability of R-Tech. The Texas legislature (80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2007) authorized the creation of…

"Everyday Mathematics," published by Wright Group/McGraw-Hill, is a core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 6 covering numeration and order, operations, functions and sequences, data and chance, algebra, geometry and spatial sense, measures and measurement, reference frames, and patterns. At each grade level, the…

This study was designed to test the effects of positive teacher expectancy instructions, positive student expectancy instructions, and positive performance feedback on the academic performance of second, third, and fourth grade students. 13 teachers (5 fourth grade, 4 third grade, and 4 second grade) from a rural Texas elementary school nominated…

Since the early 1990s, the majority of school-aged children in Texas have been non-White. The 1995 Texas legislature authorized the use of cumulative voting in school districts as a result of lawsuits prompted by the underrepresentation of minority groups on school boards. In cumulative voting, each voter has a number of votes equal to the number…

This book explores the country schoolhouses of Texas' rural past. Sources include interviews with dozens of former country schoolteachers and students and first-person narratives collected from written works. Chapters cover the following topics: (1) history of public education and country schools in Texas; (2) distance travelled by teachers and…

A study examined the influence of situated knowledge embedded in 17 rural preservice teachers' autobiographies on their perspectives on diversity and future classroom practices. Four themes emerged in interviews: situative cognition in rural contexts; cultural groups being together but existing apart; understanding group similarities and…

Latina students face many challenges that can lead to school dropout. Although school counselors have the skills and training to provide counseling and guidance to students at-risk for dropping out of school, they are often placed in positions where their role is primarily administrative. This paper describes an online support group developed by…

This study was conducted to identify the ways that superintendents in rural school districts deal successfully with restructuring. The analysis is based on interviews with superintendents and principals in four rural districts. The districts, in Texas and Oklahoma, were selected especially for their successful restructuring programs. The two Texas…

A general overview of information related to Texas schools is presented for the 1990-91 school year. The document begins with an examination of state level statistical data and concludes with detailed information about each school district. The state level statistical highlights section discusses administrative units, students, student…

This paper describes a collaborative project involving Texas Tech University personnel and four school districts in a school improvement program. The project was built around an agreement between the university personnel and school districts committing them to the program and using the Outcomes Driven Developmental Model as the basis for action.…

This study examines variables that affect staff development in rural schools. It examines systematically delivered rural staff development intervention in 28 rural schools in five states representative of the Southwest--Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas. The study, involving 700 teachers, tests 18 hypotheses based largely on…

Rural learners represent a diverse and significant part of the student population. Although research shows that the overall percentage and types of students with disabilities are similar in rural and non-rural school districts, greater proportions of rural students live in poverty, which places them at higher risk for disability. This article…

This annual statistical report provides a general overview of information related to Texas public schools for the 1989-90 school year. The document begins with "Statistical Highlights," which examines state-level data and discusses the major areas of administrative units, students, staff, and finance for the current year and for…

Teaching students who receive special education services in integrated settings requires intensive staff development and on-going training. Region 16 Education Service Center in the Texas panhandle serves 65 rural school districts covering 25,000 square miles and 80,000 students. In 1996, with direction and funding from the state legislature,…

A distance learning program implemented in 1987-88 to teach Health Care Science was modified to include the clinical experience appropriate for Health Occupations I during 1988-89. The teaching team included an instructional coordinator/teacher and four regional clinical coordinators. A total of 19 juniors and seniors at 7 rural school districts…