Consolidation


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.


Register Now for April 8 Webinar: Closing the Achievement Gap in Rural Districts: Lessons from Research and the Field

Hosted by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Central at Marzano Research, this April 8 webinar will provide participants with research and information about the instructional and organizational practices of rural districts that have closed the achievement gap.


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.


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.


Urban School Closures Similar to Rural Closures

The National Opportunity to Learn Campaign addresses school closures in urban areas.


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.


RPM Special Edition on School Violence:
Conclusions: Putting It All In Context

Read this section for a brief summary and analysis of the context for reducing violence in American schools.


South Carolina Rural Districts Hear Familiar Refrain in Court

The high-poverty rural districts at the heart of South Carolina's school funding lawsuit faced a volley of blame-the-victim questions in court. 
Date: September 26, 2012
Related Categories: In Local News, Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Consolidation, Rural School Funding News, School Finance/Funding


Arkansas Rural Advocates Protect Transportation Funding for Districts

Arkansas’ Rural Community Alliance averts a transportation funding loss of over $100K that would have impacted some of the state’s smallest districts.


RCA and Allies Explore New Ways to Build Support for Their Work

Arkansas’ Rural Community Alliance convenes training on foundation-building in Alpena.
Date: March 30, 2012
Related Categories: In Local News, Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Civic Engagement, Community Organizing, Consolidation


Consolidation and Charter Policies Make Conflicting Claims

A new wave of legislation advocating the creation of charter schools uses arguments that run counter to those often used to close small schools and districts. Both policies raise complicated questions of equity and opportunity.
Date: February 23, 2012
Related Categories: In Local News, Rural Policy Matters
Related Tags: Consolidation, Federal Education Policy


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.


Why Rural Matters 2011-12 Press Release

Nearly one in four American children attend rural schools and enrollment is growing at a faster rate in rural school districts than in all other places combined, according to Why Rural Matters 2011–12, a biennial report by the Rural School and Community Trust.