Principals need support throughout their careers in order to lead effectively and promote continuous improvement. However, some elementary school principals of small, rural schools lack access to structured systems of support that could increase their knowledge and skills as instructional leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine a central…

Professional school counselors are educational leaders with training and expertise to address the mental health concerns of students. Unfortunately, work conditions at some schools can create barriers to the delivery of effective mental health services. This article presents a case of one rural, diverse high school that transformed its school…

Reading fluency is critical in all aspects of school curriculum. Struggling readers fall further behind each year due to the increasing demands of the curriculum. To address this problem, the current study implemented literacy stations for struggling readers in a school in rural Washington State. The purpose of this study was to examine (a)…

A qualitative descriptive case study explored courses of action for educators and leaders of math and science educators to implement to help students achieve state assessment standard and postsecondary success. The problem focused on two demographically similar rural high schools in Southwest Washington that demonstrated inadequate rates of…

I present a case study of the influence of rurality and a sense of place on leaders' beliefs about purposes of local schooling and their concomitant theories of action in one rural school district. Interview data show that despite their portrayal of life in the valley as a privilege, most leaders viewed their place as presenting more problems than…

Beginning in the 1970s, members of Native and rural white communities unexpectedly came together to protect the same natural resources from a perceived outside threat. Environmental alliances began to bring together Native Americans and rural white resource users in areas of the country where no one would have predicted or even imagined them. In…

Examines a multicriteria assessment process for identification of gifted minority students in a small rural Washington school district. Describes the case study of a gifted at-risk migrant student with limited English proficiency, his identification as gifted, and subsequent instructional program. (SV)

This case study examines the founding of a high school in a developing rural area in Washington and the school's efforts to serve a changing and diversifying population. Having been expropriated for the war effort in the 1940s, the town of Mattawa (Washington) was rebuilt after the war, but high school students were bused to other school districts…

Rural Amrica has been experiencing dramatic changes in the transition toward a socially and culturally diverse society. This study is a first effort to explore multicultural reform in rural schools. Multicultural education is the process by which the school environment is modified to accommodate cultural differences as well as to teach the role…

The creation of multiple small schools from a single comprehensive high school elevates the necessity for many, rather than few, to assume leadership for various functions associated with helping each school to thrive. The nature of this effort calls for a view of leadership that moves away from reliance on administrative hierarchies and toward a…