Rural Policy Matters


Rural Policy Matters: January 2015

Rural Policy Matters: January 2015 The January 2015 issue of RPM features an article on a new early literacy program that Rural Trust, the National Council of Teachers of English, and district partners in five states are implementing; research related to preschool access; coverage of increased funding for E-rate; a reflection on student poverty reports; and updates on school finance.
Date: January 28, 2015
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Rural Policy Matters Issue Index, Rural Trust Publication


Facts and Figures About Low-Income Preschoolers in the U.S.

Question: What percentage of low-income three and four-year-olds attend preschool in the U.S.?
Date: January 28, 2015
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Facts and Figures


Increasing Early Literacy in Rural Communities

The Rural Trust is a lead partner in a new grant to demonstrate innovative approaches to strengthening literacy among young rural children.


Early Childhood Education: Few States Measuring Up

Education Week’s 2015 Quality Counts focuses on what states are doing to support learning for very young children.


E-Rate Gets Big Funding Boost, New Rules

In December the FCC gave E-Rate — the federal program that provides funding to schools and libraries for technology and high-speed internet — a funding increase of $1.5 billion.


Half of U.S. Students Eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch

More students in the U.S. are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches than at any time in history, but some miss the point in quibbles over definitions.


South Carolina, Kansas Fight School Finance Rulings

State officials in both South Carolina and Kansas are fighting court rulings to bring their finance systems up to constitutional standards.


Fact and Figures About States Where More Than One-Third of All Students Are Enrolled in Rural Districts

Question: In which sixteen states are more than one-third of all students enrolled in rural school districts?
Date: December 17, 2014
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Facts and Figures


Secure Rural Schools Program Defunded in Federal Spending Package

The federal program that has provided billions to rural timber counties to help support schools and roads received no funding in Congress’s recent funding agreement.


Rural-Urban College Completion Gap Growing

Residents of rural counties are less likely than their urban counterparts to hold a four-year college degree—and the gap is growing.


Rural Policy Matters: December 2014

Rural Policy Matters: December 2014 The December 2014 issues of RPM features stories of rural teachers who travelled internationally as Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellows; reports on Congressional defunding of the Secure Rural Schools program; examines the rural-urban college completion gap; considers the most recent shooting at a school; reports on legal actions related to school funding and charter schools.
Date: December 17, 2014
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Rural Policy Matters Issue Index, Rural Trust Publication, Unpublished Content


To Travel: 2014 Rural Trust Global Fellows Share Their Stories, Part 2

The Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellowship program offers rural teachers the opportunity to choose and design their own international learning experiences. Four Fellows in the class of 2014 talk about what the opportunity has meant to them and their students.


Students Injured in Shooting Outside School

Shooting injures four students outside a Portland, Oregon school.


School Finance Overview: Arizona and California

Attorneys for the state Legislature of Arizona are back in court seeking a stay in a Court ruling requiring increased funding for schools. In California, schools are getting more funding along with greater flexibility and a mandate to work more closely with parents and community organizations. 


Charter Schools Facing Legal Challenges

A recent court ruling in Arizona found that the state’s charter schools are not entitled to the same level of funding as regular schools, and a complaint has been filed in with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights claiming that most of Delaware’s charters are racially identifiable and that common enrollment practices violate several provisions of federal law.