This qualitative case study examines how board members make sense of federal accountability policies and how their sensemaking shapes their use of assessment data as a policy instrument. Deviating from previous work on practitioner sensemaking, the participants' interpretations of assessments did not align with their ensuing use of the data.…

In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…

This article describes the implementation of an initiative to encourage voluntary school district mergers in Vermont. The law was intended to increase educational opportunities for Vermont students while reducing costs. Three research activities were conducted to understand how districts and supervisory unions around the state responded to the new…

A lot of children are suffering--from bullet wounds, car crashes, gashes in legs, and great tears in the social fabric. There are wounds to heal, hopes to foster, and scar tissue to form. Public school teachers and leaders, wherever we are, this is our work. And we can do a good job of it, if the school community is strong, and if we always work…

Surveys typical challenges, problems, and rewards facing principals in small rural schools by profiling two principals who administer five schools in northern Vermont. The schools have a combined population of 400 students in grades from kindergarten through eighth grade. (PGD)

In this article we discuss the relationship between place-based education and standards-based reforms. Using an initiative in Vermont to include place-based standards into the state's curricular frameworks, we examine state policy makers' and practitioners' views of state standards and place-based curriculum. Furthermore, we explore the ways in…

In 1981 the University of Vermont redesigned its graduate level education curriculum and formed school improvement collaboratives with rural schools to improve instruction and supervision. Since the development of the school improvement projects there has been an increase in student achievement across the state. Includes a map, case history, and a…

Provides an overview of how one rural state (Vermont) and respective educational partners (local schoolteachers, administrators, school board, and higher education faculty members) reviewed the effective school research, various models for school improvement alternative data collection instruments, and procedures for analyzing student test data.…

Discusses developmental encroachment on isolated caves near Pittsford, Vermont. Describes cooperative effort by recreational camps and other agencies to acquire land surrounding cave entrances for conservation. Details successes and hurdles of land acquisition. Describes ongoing work by local campers to maintain and enjoy caves and property. (TES)

Describes multi-camp conservation efforts around Pittsford (Vermont) Ice Caves, including bridge and shelter building, path clearing, and general cleaning. Describes benefits for camps and campers participating in cooperative conservation projects. Suggests general guidelines for launching similar multi-camp projects. Makes suggestions for meeting…

A Vermont project, the Environmental Programs/Partnerships in Communities (EPIC) project provides a transferable model for rural development. The program is sensitive to people and environmental needs, and emphasizes long-term functioning of the entire community system, not just specific outcomes. EPIC has supported leadership training, local…

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…