The problem that was addressed in this study was that the teacher evaluation system in a small rural public school in Northern California needed to be examined for teacher effectiveness. This was important to identify perceptions of administration and teachers who stated concern about the effectiveness of the district's teacher evaluation system.…

This mixed-methods study examined the implementation of trauma-informed practices at a small, rural, public elementary school in Middle Tennessee. The researchers sought to determine the impact of trauma-informed training on student absences and behavior by examining pre-implementation and post-implementation attendance and office discipline…

This mixed-methods study examined the implementation of trauma-informed practices at a small, rural, public elementary school in Middle Tennessee. The researchers sought to determine the impact of trauma-informed training on student absences and behavior by examining pre-implementation and post-implementation attendance and office discipline…

This study examines the academic experiences of heritage Spanish-speakers who were placed in a traditional Spanish class for non-Spanish speakers at the secondary level. Each of the participants in the study demonstrated advanced-levels of oral proficiency in Spanish yet each was placed in a beginning-level Spanish class. An ethnographic case…

As Internet technology encroached on the public school classroom about a decade ago, Kim Ross, superintendent of the Houston School District in Houston, Minnesota, saw an opportunity. At first, he and his administrative team simply wanted to offer students in the district of 1,300 access to more classes via the web than what a district that size…

How can a community ensure that its public schools reflect local values and beliefs about education? The complexities involved in the reform of existing public schools, or the creation of a new system of schooling, have caused some researchers to explore new methodological avenues to change (Banathy, 1991; Duffy, Rogerson, & Blick, 2000;…

Examines the provision of two small government schools in Australia's Northern Territory in response to the aboriginal movement from central Australia to their homeland in the outer territories. A profile of the community is provided and the learning center development are discussed. (GR)

This packet contains 24 articles reprinted from books and journals dealing with effective staff development in small and rural schools. The articles are arranged in four sections. The first section reviews current research on staff development, discussing workable ideas, decision making principles, and general characteristics of effective staff…

This packet describes 12 promising practices identified in small and rural secondary schools in New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, and New York. Descriptions of the following innovations are presented: (1) two small school districts and local and state businesses that cooperated to provide a Mathematics Education for Gifted Secondary School Students…

Two sex discrimination cases recently decided by federal courts in Alabama serve as a warning to small school districts that they must adopt more formalized employment procedures and make certain that the administrators implement the policies faithfully, procedurally and in spirit. (MLF)

Based on data from a 1982-1983 study and from other sources, the average annual salaries of teachers in rural schools were compared, by geographical region, with salaries for all public elementary and secondary teachers in the United States, and the average beginning salary for rural teachers was compared with regional data for beginning public…

Argues that the small school is intrinsically neither good or bad but just unique as an educational setting. Discusses declining enrollment, growing societal concern about the products of public school education, and distance learning technology as forces shaping the future of small schools. (SV)

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…

School finance is basic to understanding and improving the condition of rural education. Information necessary for financial planning and policy development at the state and local levels is stored in large computer readable data bases and needs to be accessed. Pertinent data elements need to be extracted from the data base and relationships among…

The research question posed in this study is as follows: How are small, rural school districts different from other school districts? The study involved analysis of data from 52 unit (K-12) school districts in a 9-county region of East Central Illinois. Data were collected from the 1986 school district report cards and from Illinois State Board of…