Homestead exemptions for senior and disabled homeowners disproportionally erode rural tax bases but may still stimulate local educational spending. This article examines one such exemption in Kentucky. Two-stage generalized method of moments is used to estimate the demand for local education spending, then spending in the absence of the exemption…

We surveyed principals and assistant principals in 12 suburban and rural school districts in Kentucky in order to identify the underlying dimensions of the Preferred Teacher Applicant Characteristics Survey and to examine the relationships between school characteristics, administrator characteristics, and their preferences for teacher applicant…

In this qualitative case study, we explored student and teachers' experiences with the implementation of personalized learning in a rural Kentucky school district. Students revealed differences among teachers implementing personalized learning. Student engagement depended on their teachers' willingness to adapt their instruction and learning…

The Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) has been studying the four-day school week since 2015. Since then, the phenomenon of the four-day school week has spread into non-rural areas and interest appears to be growing. Given these apparent changes, the author wanted to know more about recent trends in the initiative. As districts continue…

Rural poverty rises to higher levels than poverty in urban and suburban areas, and rural communities and their schools face greater isolation, which means that families must travel farther than their urban and suburban counterparts to access available services and learning opportunities. Elaine Weiss describes two rural communities, one in…

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…

The shortage of African American teachers can be traced back to the historic "Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court" decision in 1954. While recruitment initiatives have been somewhat productive, studies nonetheless reveal a "revolving door" whereby scores of teachers abandon their jobs before retirement. Attrition is the…

This study examines the influences that high school seniors considered when making their plans for after graduation. Bourdieu's theory of habitus and Coleman's social capital theory inform the conceptual framework. Qualitative interviews were conducted with students and school counselors from four rural Kentucky school districts. Family, peers and…

In this paper we analyze teacher attrition from Appalachian school districts over nearly twenty years of data. We employ a unique panel of public K-12 teachers active in Kentucky between 1986 and 2005, and discern several patterns of interest to scholars and policymakers. Inter-district mobility is rare in Kentucky, and rarer still among…

A correlational research design was used to examine the influence of superintendent tenure on student achievement in rural Appalachian Kentucky school districts. Superintendent tenure was compared to aggregated student achievement scores for 2011 and to changes in students' learning outcomes over the course of the superintendents' tenure. The…

State administrators in the Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia Region (Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) are responding to increased enrollment of English language learner (ELL) students in grades K-12, including in school districts that previously did not enroll ELL students or enrolled only a small number of them. ELL…

This report presents findings from RAND's evaluation of the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) in 17 districts totaling 99 kindergarten-12th grade schools within the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC). The initiative took place from the 2014-2015 through 2017-2018 academic years. The evaluation examined various aspects of ARI…

This study examines superintendent turnover in Kentucky public school districts for 1998/99-2007/08, looking at how turnover varies by rural status, Appalachian and non-Appalachian region, and 2007/08 school district characteristics. Key findings include: (1) Kentucky school districts averaged one superintendent turnover during 1998/99-2007/08;…

Little is known about the implementation of assistive technology (AT) services for students in rural areas. This study investigated the AT service delivery in 10 rural districts across six states. The results indicated that students use AT across functional areas, but considerably fewer number of devices than do those not living in rural areas. AT…

This study examines superintendent turnover in Kentucky public school districts for 1998/99-2007/08, looking at how turnover varies by rural status, Appalachian and non-Appalachian region, and 2007/08 school district characteristics. Key findings include: (1) Kentucky school districts averaged one superintendent turnover during 1998/99-2007/08;…