As schools across the country closed in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not clear how long in-person education would be disrupted. The abrupt transition to remote learning was particularly challenging for districts in rural communities, many of which have long lacked reliable access to high-speed internet and…

The concepts of professional learning communities and organizational disciplines support staff development and leadership that lead to sustainable systems. Little research has examined the ability of rural schools to achieve sustainable systems. This quantitative design study considered the relationships between predictor variables of…

The purpose of this handbook is to guide rural school districts intending to establish a preschool program. The program described was established in the Trimble Local School District in the rural Appalachian area of northern Athens County, the third poorest district in Ohio. Contents concern: (1) the district's beliefs about children; (2)…

This paper examines the efforts of a university teacher preparation program working in collaboration with the faculty of a rural high school to provide a professional development model of preparing future teachers. The key elements of the partnership model are based on Goodlad's four functions of partner schools: preparing educators, providing…

Beginning in 1978, the Rural Education Program at the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory developed materials of the Keys to School Boardsmanship Project for local school boards, including 13 workshop packages and 2 films. A policy board, with members from the five northwest state associations of local school boards, defined topics to be…

School climate is defined, four instruments used to assess various dimensions of school climate are described, and implications of a school climate profile for developing an individualized staff development program in a rural school setting are discussed. Developed from the professional literature, the definition of school climate includes the…

The purpose of this paper is to present an outline of the occupational education program that is being implemented in the rural community of Apex, North Carolina. Cast in the form of an exemplary program and representing a total approach to the problem of occupational education for elementary and secondary school children, the program will provide…

A computerized referral management system, the Arrowhead Student Information System, has enhanced communication among special education staff members in rural Iowa. The system serves a 45-district intermediate level service unit which identifies and serves children from birth to 21 years who require special education from a student and preschool…

Materials contained in the 16 volumes that make up the Rural America Series suggest practices through which rural schools can meet local community needs and realize their potential for career program delivery. This handbook, one of five in subset C, describes a variety of school-based activities designed to assist students in accomplishing that…

Focusing on examination of the current status of small high schools, identification of the elements of successful programs, and formulation of a general program design, the report of the first year of the Small High Schools Project for Rural Alaska presents over 100 recommendations to help small high schools develop into effective institutions.…

This booklet for educational administrators and instructors contains a series of 30 strategies to overcome problems of delivering a vocational program in small rural schools. The strategies, written in abstract form, are intended for adaptation or modification for local use. Each is presented in this format: definition, purpose, description,…