Rural Policy Matters


Building a New Community — Wakefield, Nebraska

The community of Wakefield, Nebraska created a Family Resource Center that has eased the transition for a small community experiencing rapid economic, cultural, and demographic change.
Date: April 01, 2006
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: School-Community Partnerships


Partnerships Spur Library, National Park, and Preschool — Worth County, Missouri

Worth County School District and a variety of community partners have worked together to develop a school-community library, a preschool, and a National Park (that's right) with a track, outdoor classroom, amphitheater, garden, and paths...
Date: April 01, 2006
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: School-Community Partnerships


School and Church Partner to Create Community Preschool — Elgin, Nebraska

When Elgin, Nebraska decided to create a preschool four years ago, they expected some great things to happen. They've had some surprises along the way and one of them is that their preschool program has attracted the attention of several young families interested in moving to this community...
Date: April 01, 2006
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: School-Community Partnerships


Partners Create Child Care and Performing Arts Complex — Ojai, California

Community organizations and the schools in Ojai, California have a long history of friendly relations. Two collaborations are featured here: the Smart Start program, which offers preschool and before and after school programs, and the development of a performing arts complex shared by Nordhoff High School and the Ojai Performing Arts Theater Academy...
Date: April 01, 2006
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: School-Community Partnerships


Nebraska Legislature Active as Rural Education Advocates Work

Nebraska's unicameral (one house) legislature has proposed a flurry of bills related to school finance since the Nebraska Coalition for Educational Equity and Adequacy (NCEEA) filed a school finance adequacy case in 2004...

Date: April 01, 2006
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters, State/Region
Related Tags: School Finance/Funding


Rural Policy Matters: July 2005

Rural Policy Matters: July 2005The July 2005 Rural Policy Matters included the feature articles "How to Know if Your School or District is Threatened with Consolidation—and What to Do About It," "Kids Breathe Bus Pollution—New Meaning to “Kids First," "Pay Gap for Rural Educators," and "Louisiana Urged to Fully Fund Mandated Education Program."
Date: July 01, 2005
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Article, Rural Policy Matters Issue Index


How to Know if Your School or District is Threatened with Consolidation—and What to Do About It

Participants at a workshop at the Rural Education Working Group conference in Charleston, West Virginia, April 1–3, talked about how to anticipate a threat to consolidate your school before it is too late to stop it, and what to do about it. Here are just some of the notes from workshop leader Robin Lambert, a consultant to the Rural Trust, with a few ideas added later.
Date: July 01, 2005
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Community Organizing, Consolidation, Education Policy and Activism


Rural Equity Collaborative Fights for Rural Kids in Four States

Four state organizations and the Rural School and Community Trust are entering the third year of a partnership that is making a difference for rural kids in Mississippi, Nebraska, Vermont, and West Virginia.


National Study Links Small Schools and Higher Achievement

A major study by rural education researchers Craig and Aimee Howley addresses the vexing problem of how individual students of various income levels fare in larger and smaller schools nationwide. It is the strongest evidence to date that small schools are better for low income children.