Partnerships between the USDA and rural colleges are one approach that allows individual students and regional economies to fulfill their potential. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made a decision to be involved with rural community colleges, which has really made a difference on what is happening on campus. Through a dizzying array…

We explain in this article the need for board training in rural America irrespective of industry or government sector. We discuss how an assessment of training needs has led to the launch of a new project called the National Board Basics Curriculum (NBBC) project. In this project, we have identified four key core competencies that every board…

This article provides research-based suggestions for developing educational options based on acceleration to meet the needs of gifted students in rural areas. Accelerative options offered by both the home school and universities in Iowa are described. (DB)

A physics teacher at rural Cedar Falls High School (Iowa) describes how teacher telecommunication networks provided ongoing support following summer teacher workshops, his inability to get fellow teachers engaged in telecommunication, and the benefits of a telecommunication network to rural teachers. (SV)

At Living History Farms' (Iowa) pioneer homestead, late 1800 village, turn-of-the-century farm, or the farm of tomorrow, elementary and secondary students have a chance to experience both work and play aspects of farm life on the plains. The history and theory of this living museum are also discussed. (CT)

Northwest Iowa Power Co-op, Northwest Iowa Telephone, and MCI formed Pioneer Holdings to bring the latest telecommunications services to residents, schools, and businesses in rural Iowa. A half-dozen towns and co-ops have joined Pioneer, which gives customers access to all telecom services offered by MCI, as well as technical, regulatory, and…

Operating under a grant, the University for Man (UFM) in Manhattan, Kansas, tested the transferability of the UFM free university/community education model using four existing statewide delivery systems (public libraries, a private college consortium, a state cooperative extension service, an office of rural affairs) in five states: Kentucky,…

To provide information on characteristics of rural and small schools in Region VII of the U.S. Department of Education, this profile presents selected demographic data on schools in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. A narrative section discusses the purpose of the report, definitions of rural and nonmetropolitan classifications, percentages of…

Iowa has the only state-owned and operated telecommunications network in the nation. The fiber-optic network allows schools both Internet access and true interactive televised communication. The network's many advantages to rural schools include the course-sharing league in western Iowa, which has worked through various difficulties of distance…

The improvement of the rural schools of the United States is the most important school problem. The most important factor in their improvement must be better educated and better trained teachers. The education and training of teachers should always have some special reference to the work of the schools in which they are to teach. Therefore any…

Political organization is an alternative to the so-called inevitability of losing one's rural school or one's small community; People United for Rural Education (P.U.R.E.), organized to promote the survival of rural schools and the concept of rural as a credible way of life, has been an effective political organization. The reversal of urban…

The constant flow of wealth from the countryside to the city arises from farms being bought out by co-heirs, educating children to move away, rents paid to absentee landlords, profits generated locally but landing elsewhere, and overreliance on property taxes. Overviews problems specific to northwestern Iowa and how they will affect the future of…

The Lohrville Career Education Model (LCEM) was instituted as a systematic attempt at exploring careers in Iowa and inducing Iowa youth to seek careers closer to home following high school graduation or post-secondary education training; a major purpose of the Toward Community Growth project was to teach positive attitudes about living and working…

Scheduled for implementation in 1985, Student Excellence through Educational Development of Staff (SEEDS) is a 3-year cooperative partnership between four rural Southwest Iowa school districts to provide comprehensive, long-term staff development that promises to heighten student achievement through increasing instructional/supervision skills of…

School year 1980-81 completed the third year of operation for the Lohrville Career Education Model (LCEM) and the Toward Community Growth Project, a systematic attempt at exploring careers in Iowa and at inducing Iowa's youth to seek careers closer to home following high school graduation or completion of post-secondary education/training. The…