Presents findings based on author's research and experience as principal in California's Mojave Desert. Five basic characteristics distinguish the rural principalship: lack of an assistant principal or other support staff; assumption of other duties, including central office tasks, teaching, or management of another site; less severe student…

A small rural Missouri school district successfully campaigned for an 81-cent tax increase: 38 cents for a levy to operate schools, and a 43-cent bond issue that would allocate money to build new facilities. Passage of the referendum required at least a year of hard work and planning, positive advertisements, and a lot of community involvement.…

A study compared the knowledge of and perceptions about agriculture of 237 11th-grade students in small rural Missouri schools with and without a secondary agricultural program. It concluded that students studying agriculture in schools with such programs have greater knowledge and a more positive perception of agriculture. (JOW)

Georgia's drop-out rate is among the highest in the nation. Relying on statistics to design programs can be misleading. An in-depth study of South Georgia high schools shows the importance of developing drop-out programs for specific situations and students. The six schools helping to develop "Danny Dropout" and "Pine County High…

Interviewed 25 school administrators employed in small public school systems in rural south Georgia concerning their job descriptions and how they coped with the many demands of multihat positions. Suggestions for coping include learning time and stress management skills. (KS)

Describes the vicissitudes experienced by a small rural high school agriculture program in northern Illinois in setting up an aquaculture system. (SK)

A rural South Carolina school has developed arts-infusion program supported by business community, local arts communities, nearby colleges and universities, South Carolina Arts Commission, Arts in Basic Curriculum Project, state education department, and other groups. The model academic program provides a well-rounded education and cultural…

South Dakota's Rural Schools and Community Development Project was based on the belief that rural schools and communities are tightly linked and highly interdependent. School success is too often measured by how many graduates leave to pursue education or job opportunities elsewhere. (MLH)

Based on interviews with almost the entire population of shared superintendents in Iowa, this article discusses the pros and cons of shared superintendencies. Problems arose concerning logistics, decreased administrator visibility, loss of personal control, keeping district policies separate, and favoritism charges. Participants experienced high…

In 1929, the state-operated West Virginia Training School was established "for the treatment and training of mentally defective boys and girls." Renamed the Colin Anderson Center in 1965 after a compassionate superintendent, the rural school served up to 541 resident children, operated a half-way house for departing residents, and…

Investigated the participation of rural Mexican American parents in their children's elementary schools. Interviews with Mexican and Anglo American parents indicated that both groups considered their participation in their children's education very important, though the two groups had different worldviews and backgrounds, different types of school…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has been proclaimed by some as a reform that will improve education for students from all backgrounds, in all locations. The main components of NCLB, however, are biased against students in small and rural schools. This bias, called "placism," discriminates against people based on where they live. This rural…

Shickley Nebraska is an agricultural community where people have great pride in their school, community, and youth. With 98 percent of the students at the local high school college bound, the town motto is displayed on the brick "Welcome to Shickley" sign, and says "Welcome to Shickley, A Big Little Town." What makes rural…

Analyses of data from the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT) show how strongly associated the socioeconomic characteristics of schools are with school outcomes. Factors such as the percentage of students who are poor, percentage black, and the property values within a district explain over 70% of the variance in school outcomes. However,…

Spreadsheets to explore regression with an algebra 2 class in a medium-sized rural high school are presented. The use of spreadsheets can help students develop sophisticated understanding of mathematical models and use them to describe real-world phenomena.