In rural America, community members are working together to reform education, revitalize communities, and improve the quality of life. This article describes long-term efforts, such as Alabama's PACERS program, Georgia's REAL Enterprises project, and Minnesota's Center for School Change. Smaller-scale efforts in Nebraska, Mississippi, and South…

The University of Alabama's Program for Rural Services and Research uses the following strategies to nurture rural schools: (1) awards program in writing; (2) school newspaper competition; (3) placement of student teachers; and (4) playground development. The Alabama Coalition of Citizens for Excellence in Small Schools gives rural residents a…

This paper addresses the nature of educational reform and recommends strategies to better reflect the needs of rural schools and their communities. The furor over education reform is largely produced by those who stand to gain from it, including politicians who promote their own agendas and consultants, professors, and experts who make a good…

In 1995, the Annenberg Rural Challenge was established to promote school reform in the rural United States. Convinced that rural schools had not been well served by the urban/industrial model of education and were not benefiting from traditional approaches to reform, the Rural Challenge pursues a mission of supporting good rural schools to become…