Rural Trust Recommends


Rural Students Deserve Fairness

An article by Rural Trust Policy Director Marty Strange is featured in the March issue of Phi Delta Kappan magazine. Strange will also be interviewed in a free webinar on March 24th. Read more to learn how to access both the article and the webinar.
Date: February 28, 2011
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters, Rural Trust Recommends
Related Tags: Consolidation, School Finance/Funding, School/District Size


Consolidation Fight-Back Toolkit

The documents in this Consolidation Toolkit, prepared by the policy staff of the Rural School and Community Trust, can help you educate your fellow citizens and the policymakers who have the final say in consolidation decisions.


The Rural Solution: How Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education

Doris Terry Williams, executive director of the Rural School and Community Trust and director of the Trust's Capacity Building Program, explains the value of full-service community schools in rural areas in this report from the Center for American Progress.


Research Raises Doubts About Benefits of Consolidation

Has the time for consolidation come and gone? Research shows that state policies that broadly push mergers of schools and districts will not save money and will likely lower the quality of education — especially for the poor.


Taking Advantage: The Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation Program

Taking Advantage: The Rural Competitive Preference in the Investing in Innovation ProgramThis Rural Trust report analyzes the impact of the rural competitive preference in the first round of i3 grants issued by the U.S. Department of Education. The analysis considers whether the rural claim was well-made by the applicants and well-evaluated by the readers. In short, the federal grant program did little to attract authentically rural innovations to address the challenges of high-needs rural schools.


Rural School Innovations Webinar: "Schools to Watch"

“Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network" was the theme of the first event in the Rural Trust's 2010-2011 Rural School Innovations Webinar Series. Audio and Presentation PDF Now Available!.


Join the Formula Fairness Campaign

Join the Formula Fairness Campaign to fix what’s wrong about the formula for distributing federal funds for the education of disadvantaged students in public schools.


Rural Trust Launches Title I Formula Fairness Campaign

The Rural Trust is organizing to eliminate unfair and discriminatory treatment of small and rural districts in the formula for distributing funds to local school districts under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Learn more about the Campaign and how you can get involved.
Date: February 25, 2010
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters, Rural Trust Recommends
Related Tags: RT Policy Department, School/District Size, Title I


Why Rural Matters 2009: State and Regional Challenges and Opportunities

Why Rural Matters 2009Why Rural Matters 2009 is the fifth in a series of biennial reports analyzing the contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues in their respective states.


What is the Targeted Reading Intervention?

Through a partnership with the National Research Center for Rural Education Support, located at the University of North Carolina, the Rural Trust can offer evidence-based reading strategies delivered by the classroom teacher, called the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI). These diagnostically based strategies have proven to significantly improve early reading in struggling and non-struggling readers in rural schools.


Why Rural Matters 2007: The Realities of Rural Education Growth

Why Rural Matters 2007Why Rural Matters 2007 is the fourth in a series of biennial reports analyzing the importance of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the urgency for policymakers in each state to address rural education issues.


The Hobbit Effect: Why Small Works in Public Schools

The Hobbit Effect: Why Small Works in Public SchoolsWhile numerous studies have documented that small schools effectively boost student achievement, especially among at-risk students, our report, The Hobbit Effect: Why Small Works in Public Schools summarizes the vast research literature that explains just why small works in schooling, identifying ten research-based attributes of small schools that are proven to have a positive impact on kids and their learning.


Place-Based Learning Portfolio Workbook

A self-evaluation system in which school and community groups gather evidence of their place-based learning efforts, tell the story of their work while drawing on that evidence, and then analyze and reflect on their progress toward their goals.