"Small Schools, Education, and the Importance of Community" focuses on three successful approaches for using the school as a catalyst for community development and revitalization, particularly in rural areas. The strategies also work well in suburban and urban areas. The three approaches described include: leadership by K-12 teachers,…

This booklet presents ideas based on actions taken by community leaders to recruit new and emerging leaders to join in the improvement of a community. The discussion includes: (1) asking the question "who's not here?" to make sure the community organization is representative; (2) looking for skills, not names to discover leadership…

This booklet is written from the perspective that small towns can survive in changing times with the right leadership. It is intended for use by educators involved with community development or by extension educators. The attitudes and behaviors of leaders are key factors that will help communities cope with change. No longer will a town survive…

Economic growth and development have many implications that need to be considered so that informed decisions regarding the community can be made. Although expansion of an existing establishment or a newly located plant or business are the primary means by which communities seek economic growth, growth can also occur when the new industry is…

When metropolitan universities refer to serving the entire metropolitan area, they often refer to rural fringes as well as concentrated urban populations. Working with rural communities requires somewhat different approaches to planning programs and understanding needs. Survey research helps the campus understand the perceptions and realities of…

This document describes REAL Enterprises, an economic education consortium working to assist young people to research, plan, set up, own, and operate economically viable small businesses in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The program was developed with the following goals: (1) to help rural schools become effective business incubators…

The purpose of this guidebook is to help elected leaders of small towns and communities stretch their investments when matching funds are required to compete for a grant or to pay for development costs above the grant award itself. The federal "small cities" Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is used as an example throughout the…

Many communities have economic development efforts, which are generally undertaken in an attempt to create productive employment opportunities and to strengthen the local tax base. Unfortunatley, the economic development efforts of many communities, especially rural communities, are not productive ones. Many rural development efforts fail because…

This book is designed to provide an introductory understanding of challenges, goals, processes, and procedures for economic developers, particularly economic development volunteers, in rural areas and small towns. Chapter 1 defines economic development and basic terms. Chapter 2 describes major economic, social, and demographic trends that…

Written to help communities boost their economies by attracting new industries best suited for local workers, this guide discusses the kinds of employees used by different kinds of industry and highlights specific industry hiring preferences, attributes of various industries, and worker characteristics. (JHZ)

This guide was written for small and rural government officials who have limited experience with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and with federal grants in general. The use of outside expertise is often necessary in projects involving public facilities, housing, and economic development, some of the principal activities which…

"Where the money is and what you'll need to do to get it," form the central theme of this citizen's guide to rural development. Designed to assist a community leader interested in implementing a development project, the guide concentrates on the sources which most frequently fund rural community development projects, i.e., the grant and…

Presenting concepts generally applicable only to small rural regions or to local economies, this publication explains multipliers, shows how they are used in calculating impacts, and provides some criteria for determining whether a given multiplier can be used in a specific situation. Following a discussion of aggregate multipliers, which lump…

Building a rural community-school development project where students engage in community-based learning experiences requires changes in the way schools prepare rural youth for the future. This publication examines the kinds of changes a school system must make before planning and implementing community-based learning strategies. Changes in…

Some returned Peace Corps volunteers believe that U.S. foreign policy has been more damaging than helpful in the Third World. They question the links between U.S. foreign and military policy and the Peace Corps. This book addresses such questions and brings together resources and information that will help the prospective volunteer find an…