In the United States, the umbrella term "rural education" applies to diverse place-based contexts ranging from remote mountain communities to midwestern agricultural areas to southwestern mesas and beyond. One thing these varied environments have in common is the need for creative, solutions-oriented leadership. In "The Resilient…

This How-To Guide is designed for school staff who want to implement a personalized messaging intervention to improve student attendance. During the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years, the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) partnered with 47 rural districts in 16 states across the United States to pilot and test…

This packet describes 10 promising practices identified in small and rural elementary schools in New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. Descriptions of the following innovations are presented: (1) community volunteers with diverse talents and experience became enrichment "teachers" during school time for students in intermediate grades,…

With declining enrollments and budget limitations, it becomes more and more difficult for small rural schools to offer state-approved programs (often based on the "bigger is better" model of education). For many already consolidated districts, further consolidation is not a viable solution to the problem. Cooperative arrangements are…

This packet describes 12 promising practices identified in small and rural secondary schools in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and New York. Descriptions of the following innovations are presented: (1) two small school districts and local and state businesses that cooperated to provide a Mathematics Education for Gifted Secondary School Students…

This paper examines primary issues influencing rural educational cooperatives. The paper highlights the benefits of rural cooperative formation and outlines the key points in creating effective rural interdistrict cooperatives. It is directed toward those who are interested in policy issues surrounding cooperative development and maintenance. The…

Many rural school districts struggling with declining elementary school enrollments will soon face the more complex problems of declining high school enrollment. School districts with only one high school do not have the option of consolidation and must find innovative solutions to the problem of maintaining educational quality with dwindling…

A rural school administrator functions in many roles including disciplinarian, extracurricular supervisor, community liaison, curriculum leader, interpreter of state department regulations and fiscal director. New technologies in education have given even more roles to the administrator. The need to keep abreast of the plethora of educational…

The design of a needs assessment model to establish the existing status and requirements of general and special education in eight small rural South Dakota districts interested in forming an education cooperative involved: (1) synthesizing major areas of need into workable components; (2) designing a needs assessment instrument based upon these…

Gadsden Independent School District (GISD) in rural New Mexico sought alternative funding sources to meet student needs in the areas of early childhood education, special education, at-risk programs, and partnership programs with communities and local colleges. Although this school district has been granted funds for many of its projects,…

By May 1989, 29 states and territories had mandated HIV/AIDS education in their public schools. Rural schools face special problems in the delivery of such education. From telephone interviews and a survey questionnaire, 32 rural school districts across the country were identified that use effective strategies in their HIV/AIDS education programs.…

This study is an attempt to identify levels of support for foreign language programs in Tennessee within individual schools, school systems, counties, and congressional districts. Extensive charts, tables, and maps accompany the discussion of availability of foreign languages, support of foreign languages, enrollment in foreign language classes,…

Fifteen rural school superintendents surveyed in Nevada believed that raising licensing requirements would only exacerbate problems in recruiting qualified substitute teachers. They also noted that rural school districts do little to recruit substitute teachers beyond newspaper advertisements. Offers suggestions for improving recruitment while…

Based on a mail survey of over 100 rural school administrators in 34 states, this handbook outlines common problems and successful strategies in the financial management of rural, small school districts. Major problems are related to revenue and cash flow, increasing expenditures, providing quality education programs, and staffing to handle the…

This handbook reports on the use of consortia-appointed curriculum directors for meeting small, rural school districts' curriculum renewal needs. It is based on interviews with individuals involved with consortia in five Western U.S. case-study sites. Limited resources in rural schools often hinder curriculum-renewal efforts. If several districts…