The nation's community colleges share a common and vital purpose: preparing students--young and working adults--for jobs and continued academic study. Today, over 7 million community college students strive to attain a degree that will expand their opportunity, whether they aim to graduate directly into the workforce or continue on to seek a…

An ethnographic study examined school-community relationship and its effect on program implementation in six rural South Dakota towns serving as sites for the South Dakota Head Start/Public School Transition Demonstration Project (SDTP). SDTP is part of a national project to test whether providing continuous comprehensive services to Head Start…

Howard High School (South Dakota) is part of the Annenberg Rural Challenge, a privately funded national effort to strengthen rural schools and their communities. Rural Challenge schools create curricula specific to community history and resources, aiming to help students become active knowledgeable citizens. Student projects and the positive and…

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…

At Howard High School (Miner County, South Dakota), educational reform focuses on student understanding of community history, economics, and government; entrepreneurship; sustainability of agriculture, environment, and community; and democratic values. The school aims to nurture community and give students the option of staying in the community.…