Progress has been made in serving rural students with low-incidence handicaps after the implementation of Public Law 94-142, yet research indicates that this category of students is still the most difficult population to serve. Hence, designing least restrictive environment (LRE) services is crucial in further improving this type of program.…

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…

The guide, developed by the Secondary Transition and Employment Project (STEP) in Idaho, describes a rationale and model for implementing secondary/vocational assessment of students with disabilities that is integrated with curriculum and transition strategies. Assessment and curricular strategies are particularly intended for students in rural…

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…

Intended to serve as a handbook for the principal of the small school, this volume presents a collection of 38 articles about small schools that have appeared in the National Association of Secondary School Principals Bulletin during the past 7 years. An introduction explores the basic concept of size as it relates to schools. Five chapters group…

This "how to" manual was developed as part of a York County (Pennsylvania) system for delivering the Laubach Literacy Program to a sparsely populated rural area. It provides aid to other basic skills programs in Pennsylvania to set up their own centers as literacy delivery systems. The guide first sets forth the project's aims and…

Described in this technical note is a 2-week workshop designed to train Indonesian community education workers (peniliks) to develop and use case studies in their work with village learning groups. The peniliks are described as mostly male, from a variety of backgrounds, but with backgrounds similar to that of their clients. Learning groups are…

Written as a first step to improve early stimulation services to developmentally disabled and retarded preschool aged children in Costa Rica, the manual, in Spanish, seeks to attain the following objectives: raise consciousness and understanding of health service personnel, primary and special educators, rehabilitation personnel, and parents;…

The program development guide provides general information about Project ESURG (Exemplary Systems Unique for Rural Gifted), a program serving approximately 365 intellectually gifted students (grades K through 8) within a 4 county, 500 square mile area of Nebraska. The principle of gradually implementing a gifted education program is explained in…

Outlines specific steps for implementing and validating a qualitative methodology designed to evaluate rural areas' special education programs serving students with severe special needs. Provides a rationale for use of the elements of aesthetic criticism as the basis of the methodology and discusses practical limitations and usefulness of the…

Twenty-five papers address issues of the underserved gifted, including environmental influences, multicultural and global factors, special learning problems, and the highly gifted and creatively gifted. The papers are: "Twenty-five Teaching Strategies that Promote Learning Success for Underserved Gifted Populations" (Jerry Flack); "The Invisible…

This report focuses on teaching with the World Wide Web. An introduction describes the Illinois State Board of Education's (ISBE's) efforts in urging local schools to integrate information technology into all aspects of their curriculum and in emphasizing the need for technology-focused staff development for Illinois teachers. ISBE supports…

The Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) aims to stimulate sustainable systemic improvements that enhance student performance in mathematics, science, and technology in 66 Appalachian counties characterized by persistent poverty. To support this aim, a major ARSI goal involves development of partnerships among families, communities, and…

Notes impact of high-stakes language arts assessments on teachers in Georgia rural districts. Provides additional support for what many English teachers already believe--that rich classroom discussion, reading from a variety of texts, student-centered writing assignments, and metacognitive awareness of one's reading and writing strategies…

This article addresses program planning for successful inclusion of students with mild disabilities in rural schools. It discusses preplanning with staff and peers, developing a communication system, structuring collaborative planning time, dealing with resistant teachers, gaining administrative support, involving parents, designing a grading…