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.

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.

Rural Policy Matters: November 2014

The November 2014 issue of RPM features stories of rural teachers who travelled internationally as Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellows; reports the recent ruling in favor of high-poverty rural districts in South Carolina; examines rural issues in a crop of school finance lawsuits; and considers the implications of charter arguments in Washington State.

Rural Policy Matters: October 2014

The October 2014 issue of RPM examines the Seattle-area school shooting in light of other information on school violence; delves into a raft of research on college-going rates; considers new information on student well-being in the U.S.; examines education issues in next month’s elections; and shares information about initiatives in which the Rural Trust is involved.

Rural Policy Matters: September 2014

The September issue of RPM explores new child poverty data; describes recent Rural Trust activities related to place-based learning; examines three current school finance lawsuits; considers recent developments in state and federal initiatives related to teachers; and reports on Missouri’s new law expanding the ability of employees to bring guns to school.

Rural Policy Matters: August 2014

The August issue of RPM considers the importance of Vermont’s stance on declaring its schools “low performing,” examines a recent set of papers related to school finance, reports on a North Carolina court decision declaring the state’s voucher program unconstitutional, and comments on the accountability and teacher quality provisions that NCLB was to require this school year.

Rural Policy Matters: July 2014

The July issue of RPM covers the deadline extension for School-wide free lunches for eligible schools; examines how Washington State is dealing with a school finance court order; explores Georgia’s new gun laws and how schools are responding; and reports on the Capitol Hill briefing of Why Rural Matters 2013–14.

Rural Policy Matters: June 2014

The June issue of RPM offers a rural take on the recent court decision in California addressing teacher tenure and looks at how the North Carolina legislature is using the state budget to affect a range of education policies.

Rural Policy Matters: May 2014

The May issue of RPM presents information from Why Rural Matters 2013–14; reports on some of the complex issues that teachers face; and reviews a new report on the importance of supports for young children and their families and what states are doing about it.

Rural Policy Matters: April 2014

The April issue of RPM announces the rural Leonore Annenberg School Fund grantees; profiles student-led efforts to reduce poverty in a rural Louisiana community; explores a report on school-community collaborations; profiles the 2014 national Forum of the Coalition for Community Schools; introduces the 2014 class of Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellows; and includes information from a recent survey of American teachers and students.

Rural Policy Matters: March 2014

The March issue of RPM profiles North Mitchell Elementary where an emphasis on health is connecting students to their own communities, explores data released in a new federal report on equity in schools, reports on the most recent developments in the Kansas school finance case, and examines issues of school funding fairness in a recent report from the Education Law Center.

Rural Policy Matters: February 2014

The February issue of RPM profiles Cara Cookson whose strong education in a small rural school has motivated her to work on behalf of rural communities and their schools; covers recent developments in education policy in North Carolina; and presents “Valuable, Flexible, and Cost Effective,” Part 3 in the series, “Rural Matters: Implications of Rural Characteristics for Public Policy.”

Rural Policy Matters: January 2014

The January issue of RPM profiles Ernest Brooks, former Rural Trust Board Chair, whose rural experiences have shaped his adult contributions; presents "Going Two Ways at Once," Part 2 in the series, “Why What’s Rural Matters;” compares urban and rural school closures; reports on plans of rural Promise Zones; and considers all-too-familiar patterns in recent school shootings.

Rural Policy Matters: December 2013

The December issue of RPM focuses on poverty, and specifically on Promise Neighborhood initiatives to bring cradle-to-career supports to all children and youth in three distressed rural communities. The issue includes a reflection on poverty; a profile of the Berea Promise Neighborhood initiative in Kentucky; an exploration of family engagement efforts in Berea initiatives; news and insight from all three Promise Neighborhood initiatives; information about the Rural Education Summit at Berea College; and an announcement of the 2014 Global Teacher Fellowship application process.

Rural Policy Matters: November 2013

The November issue of RPM profiles a youth-led entrepreneurial effort in North Carolina; kicks off a new series, “Why What’s Rural Matters;” covers a recent tour of full-service community schools in California; reports on the education tax referendum in Colorado; and includes announcements of the 2014 Global Teacher Fellowship application process and a rural education AmeriCorps program in northern New England.