Can four-day school weeks help districts save money? How do districts overcome the barriers of moving to a four-day week? What is the effect of a four-day week on students, staff and the community? This paper enumerates the benefits for students and teachers of four-day school weeks. Recommendations for implementation of a four-day week are also…

Queried 571 elementary school principals in 12 states to determine: (1) the frequency of nontraditional (combination and nongraded) classes; and (2) changes in the use of combination classes during recent years. Found that although combination classes represented 17% of California classrooms, most states contained only 3 to 7%. Nongraded classes…

While the concept of choice is not new to families able to take advantage of the available options, the idea of giving parents nearly total freedom in selecting their children's public school is new. Proponents of choice claim it results in higher test scores, fewer dropouts, and more involved parents. Critics maintain that there is no proof of…

Population trends, curriculum, staffing demands, and new methods of financing education are placing the small school in an increasingly precarious position. The purpose of this paper is to submit data showing that 68% of Iowa schools face a serious dilemma. Declining rural populations could reduce by half the enrollment in at least half of Iowa's…

Being 1 of 4 publications dealing with the effects of population decline on rural Iowa counties, this study was published in 1962 as part of a larger study done under the auspices of the North Central Region Subcommittee on Population Research. The effects of out-migration on school systems in Greene County are described, and school history,…

The impact of recent technological, social, and economic change has necessitated a re-examination of educational structure, and has resulted in school district reorganization projects in many states. The purposes of this paper are to review the various legislative techniques employed by 33 states in their attempts to merge or reorganize school…

The second national conference on consolidation of rural schools and transportation of pupils was called by the United States Commissioner of Education and held at Cleveland, Ohio, February 26, 1923. Twenty-three States were represented. Those in attendance included State commissioners of education, rural-school workers from State departments of…