The problems, challenges, and opportunities of rural education are the focus of the fourteen speeches and nine workshops presented at the second annual conference on rural education, held February 1-2, 1979, in Des Moines, Iowa. Conference proceedings are presented in this newsletter in transcript or summary form. Speeches cover the topics of rural contributions to society, public attitudes toward rural education, the rationale for preserving rural schools, and the growing interest in research on rural education and small schools. The goals of Iowa's Rural ACTION Programs are outlined, and the rural studies curriculum being developed at Southwest State University, Minnesota, is described. Workshop presentations emphasize administrative strategies for solving the problems faced by small schools; effective budgeting, personnel and program sharing, bond issues, building programs, school volunteers, and the community-school relationship are discussed. Other workshop topics include Colorado State University's program to train teachers for rural schools and the Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, project to develop a multi-service telecommunication system to enhance the quality of rural life. (JH)