A relationship exists between rural schools and rural development. Being an integral part of rural communities and society, these schools are affected by the forces at work within and on their society. Rural society, communities, and schools have been changed by massive forces of industrialization, urbanization, and bureaucratization. Migration accelerated as inequities between rural and urban areas became more visible. The school is a major force in improving opportunity and the quality of life. Therefore, schools are a mechanism for development and can be strategic forces in development efforts to improve rural communities, then creating conditions under which they can perform more effectively as educational institutions. This paper provides: (1) an overview of the growing interest and concern in development at various levels, (2) a review of the functions of schools in past development, (3) impediments schools confront as a development mechanism, (4) functions schools might perform in rural development, and (5) some specific actions schools might take to accelerate development in rural communities and to improve educational quality. (NQ)