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

Why 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.

Early Childhood Education in Rural Communities

The Rural Trust's Doris Terry Williams and UNCF's Tammy L. Mann edited this monograph on the current status of early childhood education in rural communities.

The Influence of Teachers: Reflections on Teaching and Leadership

In this urgent and insightful book, John Merrow draws on his experience as a reporter for PBS and NPR to examine this question and others, and offer possibilities and solutions for a new education system.

Rural Policy Matters: April 2011

The April 2011 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes stories about the parallels between recent urban school consolidation proposals and consolidation initiatives in rural areas; a report on a recent court decision that will affect the ability of states to provide tax credits to cover costs of private education, among other things; an update on the Formula Fairness Campaign; the latest installment in our series on school finance, this time addressing teacher compensation; Rural School Funding News, and a graph showing the number of schools in rural, town, city, and suburban locations.

Rural Policy Matters: March 2011

The March 2011 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes a story about the North Carolina Rural Education Working Group’s conference that addressed disciplinary policies among other topics; a new series on teacher compensation; coverage of the latest webinar in the Rural Schools Innovations Webinar series; an update on the Formula Fairness Campaign; the latest installment in our series on school finance, this time addressing teacher compensation; Rural School Funding News, and a graph showing the rise in the rates of students participating in free and reduced lunch programs, and more.

Rural Policy Matters: February 2011

The February 2011 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes articles about a new report on school consolidation, an initiative to change Highly Qualified Teacher rules; Discipline rulings that affect schools; Categorical Weighting in school finance formulas; an article by Marty Strange; Rural School Funding News, and more.

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

This 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 Policy Matters: January 2011

The January 2011 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes articles about "Taking Advantage," a Rural Trust report on rural innovation in the i3 program; Rural Trust Policy Director Marty Strange briefs Congress on i3; homelessness counts underway; Formula Fairness Campaign grows; Equity and Adequacy in School Funding; Rural School Funding News, Teacher Salaries in Rural Schools, and more.

Rural Policy Matters: December 2010

The December 2010 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes articles about new co-sponsors of the Formula Fairness Campaign, a letter from senators about i3 fairness for rural districts, what makes people form attachments to their communities, the importance of revenue systems to school finance, Rural School Funding News, and more.

Rural Policy Matters: November 2010

The November 2010 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes articles about the 2010 Congressional election results; an analysis of how programs awarded “rural preference” points in the Investing in Innovation competitive grant program are proposing to work in rural districts; School Discipline, Rural School Funding News, and more.

Rural Policy Matters: October 2010

The October 2010 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes articles about how the Investing in Innovation (i3) competitive grant program is doing little to reach high-poverty rural schools; why poverty rates for young children are significantly higher in rural areas than in central cities — and that rural black children face poverty rates approaching 50%; School Discipline, Consolidation Watch, Rural School Funding News, and more.

Rural Policy Matters: September 2010

The September 2010 edition of Rural Policy Matters includes articles about a small community trying to find ways for local residents to reconnect to their own cultural inheritance and to each other in the face of economic hardship, a monolithic corporate presence, disaster, and international energy demands; why high-poverty rural districts won’t see much of the $4 billion in Race to the Top grants to states; why the mid-term elections are an important time to tell both incumbents and challengers that Title I funding needs to be fixed; and more