Studies suggest that the challenge of violence in public schools can be met through character education, whether by providing a school culture in which core values are practiced or some form of moral training (indoctrination). To assess the need for character education in rural schools, small-school superintendents and board members in central…

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…

Ten rural school improvement clusters involving 63 districts, 7 colleges and universities, and 6 state departments of education have been developed in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota through the work of the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory's Rural Education Project. Four essential steps appear necessary for…

A survey of 215 graduates from small rural high schools in north-central Missouri examined the perceived effectiveness of academic, vocational, and general education programs in the development of work skills. Vocational graduates perceived their education programs to be more effective overall, and in technology and occupational preparation, than…

An overview of the status of rural school financing revealed three major reasons why rural schools are facing major problems in financing today: (1) school reforms have generally failed to address the specific needs of rural and small schools; (2) researchers have failed to recognize small school differences in their collection, classification and…

Contributions of rural high schools to their local economic climate are both underestimated and undervalued. Functions that high schools can and should perform in rural economic development today include providing occupational training to meet immediate labor market needs, raising community educational attainment levels to meet long-term…

Forming a consortium to share the financial burden of bringing microcomputer hardware and software into the schools is one way that small schools can maintain educational quality and equity in a time of rapidly increasing microcomputer technology. Six small schools in Missouri, in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Elementary and…

Plans and procedures are described for providing equal access to educational opportunity for all children in Missouri. Historical development of school district organization in the State is traced. The need for further school district reorganization is examined, and methods of achieving effective organization are evaluated. A recommended statewide…

Four case studies conducted by the Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory (McREL) Rural Education Project examined four clusters of rural schools and their efforts to improve schooling by collaborating and sharing resources. The Mid-Missouri Small School Consortium involved five rural school districts in efforts to incorporate…

Directed primarily toward small school administrators and school boards, this publication describes a consortium of five rural school districts in central Missouri and how they used a traveling teacher to facilitate incorporation of microcomputer capabilities into the school systems' operation and curriculum. The paper describes the use of the…