Nationally, the demand for charter schools is high, yet access to affordable school facilities is a continued barrier to the growth of the charter sector. This paper, produced by the National Charter School Resource Center (NCSRC) in partnership with the Colorado League of Charter Schools (CLCS) and Momentum Strategies & Research, addresses…

In this National Science Foundation Advanced Technician Education program (NSF ATE) project, we aimed to explore factors that would strengthen the rural IT employee workforce and improve educational support related to broadband, telecommunications, and networks in rural settings. Using multiple methods to triangulate rural IT program curricula…

Driven by new digital technologies, the future of learning is increasingly interactive, individualized, and full of real-world experiences and information. Unfortunately, the average school has about the same connectivity as the average American home, but serves 200 times as many users, and fewer than 20 percent of educators say their school's…

Proposes reasons for the precipitous drop in the number of Black farmers since the 1950s. Today, most Black farmers have very small operations and are at an advanced age. A healthy rural nonfarm economy is essential to supplement farmers incomes. The Agriculture Credit Act of 1987 offers low-interest loans to Black farmers. (KS)

This paper presents the activities of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) for 2009. The past year was one of accomplishment for USAC. USAC implemented a host of advances in operations, infrastructure, and outreach in an effort to continue to improve collection and disbursement of the Universal Service Fund (USF) support and to…

This paper isolates critical rural economic development issues and identifies needed federal policy interventions. Despite a long history of federal efforts to improve rural economic conditions, recent policies and programs aimed at stimulating rural development have had little impact. Reasons include: (1) narrowly focused economic development…

Rural revitalization was the theme of the 1970s, and rural economic stress is the overriding issue of the 1980s. This stress is associated with both cyclical trends and with basic changes in the structure of the rural economy. These cyclical and structural changes affect, and are affected by, the human resource base of rural economies. Prior to…

The concerted Services in Training and Education (CSTE) program was designed at the federal level to coordinate the resources of all appropriate federal agencies and related state agencies in rural development. The pilot Minnesota program focused on alternative strategies in area development, specifically a rural outmigration area with low income,…

Rural development is broader than just agriculture. Farm policy cannot solve rural community problems. Rural problems are sufficiently unique to require special emphasis and special programs. Since rural development has a broader focus than the local community, its problems need to be addressed by all levels of government as well as the private…

The Concerted Services in Training and Education (CSTE) program was designed at the federal level to coordinate the resources of all appropriate federal and state agencies in rural development. The pilot Arkansas program focused on the problems of a rural outmigration area characterized by low income, underemployment, and lack of industry.…

Describes a three-phase program designed by the Anne Arundel County Community Action Agency to help the rural poor; includes development of human resources, housing, and economic resources. (JM)

Three recent developments are of interest to all concerned with improving the quality of life in rural America: (1) the federal Small Community and Rural Development Policy (1979), (2) the Rural Development Policy Act of 1980, and (3) the desire for local control made clear by the November 1980 elections. (AN)

Changes in federal policy affecting rural development in economically distressed areas in 2001 include new markets initiatives, establishment of the (Mississippi River) Delta Regional Authority, and increased infrastructure funding. Infrastructure priorities include highway construction, airport improvements, public works grants, rural…

This report identifies those federal programs that are essentially rural and pursue economic development purposes. Using the 10 Beale population codes, 2,097 of the 3,096 U.S. counties, containing 16% of the U.S. population, were defined as rural (had urban populations of less than 20,000). The approximately 800 federal domestic assistance…

The Federal Government, through its Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962, has served approximately 80,000 rural youth through its various training programs. The Neighborhood Youth Corps (NYC) and the "Concerted Services Approach" are 2 programs which have had particular impact on rural areas. The need for these programs is readily…