School/District Size


Why Rural Matters 2015-2016 Capitol Hill briefing to be held April 3, 2017

Why Rural Matters 2015-2016 is the eighth 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.


Rural public schools worry they will be left behind

 With a new administration in the White House that prefers  "school-choice” approaches — favoring charter schools and private-school vouchers so parents can opt out of public schools and bring taxpayer dollars with them — the nation’s rural schools are left to wonder about their fate.


Rural Snapshot: Dillon County, South Carolina

Dillon County, South Carolina is a poor rural community located along interstate 95, about 70 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach.  In Dillon County, roughly two-thirds of students are African-American, one-third are white and 90 percent are low-income.


Regional Education Laboratory Appalachia Co-hosts July 25 Event on Postsecondary Readiness in Rural Communities

Regional Education Laboratories (REL) invite practitioners and leaders from rural schools and districts, as well as rural education researchers are invited the attend the Cross-REL full-day event in Nashville, Tennessee.


Cara Cookson: Rural American Committed to a Rural Future

Cara Cookson has always been proud of her rural background and her rural education. Now she’s working to see rural communities survive and thrive.


Valuable, Flexible, and Cost-Effective: Making the Most of Small Scale

The RPM series “Rural Matters: The Implications of Rural Characteristics for Public Policy,” explores attributes that make a place rural and, therefore, different from urban and suburban places. In this installment we look at the characteristic of low population — and its corresponding attribute smallness — and consider ways in which this rural characteristic should inform public policy, especially education policy.


Facts and Figures About "Small" Rural Public School Districts

Question: What percentage of rural public school districts in the U.S. is considered “small?”
Date: February 26, 2014
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Facts and Figures, School/District Size


Going Two Ways at Once: Distance as a Defining Rural Characteristic

The RPM series “What Makes Rural Rural?" examines characteristics of rural places and implications for policymakers, philanthropists, and others interested in making the most of resources and opportunity. In this second installment we look at the effects of distance on rural residents, schools, and communities.


Impact Aid School Districts Bear Brunt of Federal Budget Cuts

When the across-the-board federal budget cuts, known as the Sequester, took effect on March 1, 2013, school districts receiving federal Impact Aid experienced an immediate reduction of funds for the 2012-2013 school year, because funding for the Impact Aid Program is used the same school year it is appropriated.


Panel Discussion on School District Consolidation Held in Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, August 8, 2013, the Center for American Progress hosted a panel of educators and experts in a debate of the pros and cons of consolidating small and rural schools districts.


RTTT-D Competition and Small High-Poverty Districts

The Race to the Top-District competition is available to districts and consortia of districts, and it is aimed at classroom level reform efforts. But its requirements raise challenges for rural districts. 
Date: August 28, 2012
Related Categories: Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Federal Policy, Race to the Top, School/District Size


Some Effects of Charter School Funding Plans on Smaller School Districts

The rapid expansion of charter schools in some states is raising questions about their impact on the funding of regular public schools.


Instructional Expenditures per High School Graduate

Smaller high schools spend more per high school student, but much less per high school graduate.


Why Rural Matters 2011-12: Statistical Indicators of the Condition of Rural Education in the 50 States

WhyRural Matters 2011-12Why Rural Matters 2011–12 is the sixth 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.


Pre-Test, Mid-Term; A First-Year Rural Teacher Makes The Grade

Albert Bryant is a first-year mathematics teacher in tiny Everton, Missouri, his hometown.  A graduate of Drury University, Albert was in the inaugural class of the Ozarks Teacher Corps, an effort dedicated to encouraging outstanding teacher prospects to return to their rural home communities as teachers. The Ozarks Teacher Corps is funded by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks’ Rural School Partnership and provides participants with a $4,000 per year scholarship, seminars on rural education issues, and a variety of networking opportunities.