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Over the past several decades West Virginia has closed scores of small, locally-based schools (primarily high schools), as part of district-level consolidation. These consolidations have affected families and students in numerous ways. Most notably, students living in outlying towns are now required to travel much longer distances to reach centralized high schools. Community members have voiced concerns that very long bus rides take a toll on students, their schoolwork, and the degree to which they can participate in after-school activities. Since further consolidation is presently being proposed statewide, the current lack of solid data about the impact of consolidation is problematic. This research by the Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust) is an effort to fill in some of the gaps. It is organized around eight research questions: (1) How do students get to school?; (2) How long is the morning commute?; (3) How many students travel over the state guidelines?; (4) How is engagement in extra-curricular activities affected by consolidation status?; (5) travel time?; (6) mode of transportation; (7) very long bus rides?; and (8) How is consolidation related to students' aspirations to attend college? The following are appended: (1) County Demographics; (2) County Map of West Virginia; (3) Student Survey; and (4) Study Limitations. (Contains 13 tables, 13 figures, and 7 footnotes.)

For those rural schools and communities across the country facing declining student enrollment, there are no easy answers. But there are steps policymakers and communities can take to help cushion the negative impact of declining enrollment on schools to ensure that "no child left behind" also means "no place left behind." This report details 20 policies that can help provide students in communities experiencing declining enrollment with a high quality education and also buy time for communities to rebound, improve, or adjust to changes in population and revenue. (Contain 10 endnotes.)

In an effort to explore whether resources matter in Mississippi, this study investigates the relationship between: (1) student achievement; and (2) human and fiscal resources among school districts. In considering these relationships, it is important to recognize that the cost of providing an adequate education may vary with the socioeconomic characteristics of the district, and that other factors may affect the relationship between achievement patterns and resources. For instance, districts that serve higher percentages of students who face non-academic barriers to high achievement (poverty, low education levels among adults, etc.) require additional resources to "level the playing field" for their students. With that in mind, the study also includes socioeconomic characteristics of school districts and their communities in the analysis. Findings suggest that the distribution of human and fiscal resources throughout the state does in fact mirror the distribution of student achievement, in ways that place school systems serving the most challenged student populations in the unenviable position of attempting to do more for their students with fewer resources available. (Contains 11 figures, 5 tables, and 3 footnotes.)

Current means of determining the level of state education funding have denied millions of the nation's children access to a quality education by not providing schools with the resources they need to properly educate all children. It has also created and perpetuated wide gaps in education funding between wealthy and poor school districts. The concept of "educational adequacy" seeks to reverse this process by first determining the resources schools and students need to meet high education standards and then matching sufficient state and local funding with those needs. To explore this notion, the Rural Trust convened five leading state-level rural advocacy organizations. These organizations, collectively referred to as the Rural Equity Collaborative Group (REC Group), are geographically diverse and possess extensive knowledge about rural communities, grassroots people, schools, and education in their states. The REC Group was asked to explore ten key questions: (1) Does money matter in the process of educating children?; (2) How great is the need for accountability and capacity building in a high quality education system?; (3) Are small rural schools cost effective?; (4) What are the unique characteristics of rural communities that should be considered in discussions about education quality?; (5) What fundamental principles underlie a high quality state education funding system?; (6) Are there better ways to convey the concept of "educational adequacy" to rural people and communities?; (7) How essential is community involvement in determining educational "adequacy?"; (8) What are the component parts of a "high quality" or "first rate" rural education program and do they cost more than in other schools?; (9) Do existing state supplemental funding programs sufficiently reflect the higher costs of running rural schools?; and (10) How should state education funding systems be structured to reflect the higher costs of operating rural schools? Their findings and conclusionsare presented in this document. Includes appendix: Summary of Four Leading Approaches to Determine the Adequate Level of Funding for School Districts. (Contains 50 footnotes.)

In 2002-2003, 27% (12.5 million) of public school students attended school in communities of fewer than 25,000 and 19% (8.8 million) attended school in smaller communities of fewer than 2,500. In this report, the authors focus on the schools in those smaller communities, the most rural schools in America. They frame the report around 22 statistical indicators grouped into four gauges measuring: (1) the relative importance of rural education; (2) the level of poverty in rural schools; (3) other socio-economic challenges faced by rural schools; and (4) the policy outcomes achieved in rural education. A combination of the four gauge rankings gives an overall ranking, the Rural Education Priority Gauge. The top quartile on this gauge includes states in quintessentially rural regions of the country: the Mid-South Delta (Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas), the Southeast (South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina), the Southwest (New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arizona), and Central Appalachia (Kentucky and West Virginia). No state scores in the highest quartile on all four gauges, but six score in the highest quartile on three of the gauges (New Mexico, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Arizona, and Oklahoma). The lowest ranking states on the Rural Education Priority Gauge are urban states in the East and in the Great Lakes Region. These and other findings are discussed in detail in this report. (Contains 9 tables, 27 figures, and 2 notes.)

This policy brief is intended to highlight some of the leading policy issues faced by states, local school districts, policymakers, education leaders, and concerned citizens. State and local policies vary appreciably, a definitive statement on how school finances can and should be managed in every setting is beyond the scope of this paper. Rather, the goal is to present general recommendations about best fiscal practices that can be tailored to meet the needs and circumstances of individual states and school districts. The document is organized into five sections. Following a list of "guiding principles of sound fiscal management systems," Section II outlines responsibilities and roles in the fiscal management process. This section is organized according to the five major steps in the budgeting process, and emphasizes opportunities for engagement by various constituencies at each step in the process. Section III considers rural-specific concerns and strategies, and Section IV examines the options available to state policymakers in ensuring sound fiscal management practices at the school and district level. Following the fifth and final section, the conclusion, are appendices offering specific information on budgeting models, a glossary of school finance terms, and resources for obtaining additional information.

Every state in the nation is currently charting a course to improve its public education system. As states raise education standards and invest in programs to improve student achievement, there are a number of reasons why it is essential that states consider the school facility needs of rural schools. This report is intended to assist state policymakers, educators, and community members in identifying critical school facility issues and crafting state policies that meet the needs of all students, especially rural students. A number of policy approaches are suggested that can help ensure that the educational needs of students, especially students living in rural areas, are addressed and met. The recommendations draw on state experiences--both good and bad. Appendix A provides a set of "Guiding Principles" that summarize overarching themes that should be part of a fair and effective state school facilities program. A "State School Facilities Policy Checklist" is included in Appendix B as a simple tool for evaluating a state school facilities program. Appendix C lists other sources of information and resources about facility policies, funding, and rural school facilities.

Over four milliion children go to public schools in Texas; of these, almost half a million (474,000) students attend school in rural areas. Thirty-six percent of rural Texas students are members of a minority group, 46% are poor, and more than 31,000 students in rural Texas do not speak English well. These are Texas-style large numbers that begin to reveal some of the challenges of ensuring that all students in Texas receive an excellent education. In a huge state like Texas, where more than 80% of the population lives in urban and suburban areas, it is easy for rural children to be neglected or discounted. It is important, therefore, to investigate the extent to which the needs of rural children are being met in Texas schools. Findings reveal significant deficiencies in offering an excellent education to rural students in Texas and in meeting their educational needs. Much of this report is focused on teachers in rural Texas. Though there are many other ingredients to successful educational reform strategies (for example, adequate facilities), research clearly reveals that effective, qualified teachers are the keystones to such efforts. Without competent teachers, all other efforts are insufficient. This portrait of rural teachers and teaching conditions in Texas reveals a number of areas of significant deficiencies for rural schools. With many high need students and lagging support, rural schools are required to do more with less. This is a disservice to rural students and staff. These deficiencies can and should be rectified. This will require thoughtful policies, and in many cases, financial support. These efforts are crucial, however the half million rural students in Texas should not be underserved or left behind.

The National Park System (NPS) offers a wealth of learning opportunities outside the classroom. The NPS is reaching out to educators nationwide to enrich student learning with the power of place, using public lands as classrooms where students can view historic artifacts and structures and interact with the natural world. Programs at Canyonlands National Park, Utah; George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Virginia; and Badlands National Park, South Dakota are highlighted.

After nearly two centuries of denial within Western education institutions, the indigenous knowledge systems of Alaska's Natives are being recaptured through the work of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative. These knowledge systems, coupled with the best of Western science, form the foundation for a new type of education--one that is place-based, culturally responsive, academically rigorous, and capable of propelling the achievement of Native children forward. (Contains 8 endnotes and 4 figures.)

The report has three sections. The first section is a chart that examines each of the 12 policy areas and describes its significance for rural schools. For each area, the most "rural-sensitive" position has been identified. The second section examines how each of these 12 policy areas is treated in the NCLB plan for 15 of the most "rural" states. The last section summarizes the findings of our investigation, discusses other areas of importance, and offers reflections about NCLB accountability in rural places.

Stressed by high poverty levels, a low tax base and low teacher salaries, the East Feliciana School District competes, most often unsuccessfully, with neighboring districts and states, and with a relatively segregated white academy system for qualified teachers and pupil resources. Consequently, at the dawn of the federal government's landmark education reform initiative, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 55.8% percent of the district's K-8 teachers were not fully certified to teach and 80% of its students were performing below average in at least one core subject. At the same time, only 31.8% of the parish's adult population had completed high school and fewer than 5% were college graduates. With a median household income of $26,864, 26% of the parish's children were living below the poverty level. This paper describes the implementation and results of a reform effort, undertaken in the late 1990s, that focused on place-based science and mathematics education. Standardized test scores have improved, and parish schools are now developing lasting school-community partnerships. The district is connecting its residents, including students, with natural resources located in East Feliciana and the surrounding communities by collaborating with educators, parents, community members, clergy, businesses, and nonprofits. (Contains 6 figures and 6 tables.)

Researchers, policymakers, taxpayers, and others have wondered whether "money matters" in the academic achievement of public school students--in other words, do the schools and districts that receive the most (in terms of financial resources) produce the most (in terms of measurable student achievement)? This issue is particularly pressing at the district level of performance, because districts are the recipients of state aid and the unit of analysis for determining whether state funding systems are adequate and/or equitable. In an effort to explore whether "money matters" in Nebraska, this study analyzes the relationship between student achievement and fiscal resources among school systems in Nebraska. Moreover, in considering these relationships, it is important to recognize that the cost of providing an adequate education varies with the socio-economic characteristics of the district, and that other factors may affect the relationship between achievement patterns and fiscal resources--i.e., districts that serve higher percentages of students who face nonacademic barriers to high achievement (poverty, limited English language skills, etc.) require additional financial resources to "level the playing field" for their students with regard to students who do not face similar barriers. With that in mind, the study also includes socioeconomic characteristics of school systems and their communities in the analysis. Findings suggest that the distribution of financial resources throughout the state does in fact mirror the distribution of student achievement, and in ways that place school systems serving the most challenged student populations in the unenviable position of attempting to do more for their students with significantly fewer resources available. The resources they are provided are inadequate to the challenge they face and inequitable compared to the resources received by districts facing fewer challenges to achievement. (Contains 9 tables, 2 figures, and 3 notes.) [This paper represents a publication of the Policy Program of the Rural School and Community Trust.]

The Southern Rural High School Study Initiative seeks to identify high performing rural high schools in the South, engage education leaders in the region in analyzing the challenges faced by these schools and consider the public policies that might serve to transfer the lessons and strategies used by these schools to other small rural high schools in the region. The purpose of this paper is to discuss policy options based on both prior knowledge and also site visits to five such high performing small rural high schools serving high poverty and/or high minority populations. [This paper represents a Rural School and Community Trust Policy Paper prepared for the Southern Rural High School Study Initiative, a joint venture of the Southern Governors' Association, Southern Regional Education Board, and The Rural School and Community Trust.]

Six case studies examine the connections between higher education institutions and schools that have chosen place-based education as a framework for student learning and community growth. Through such partnerships, Lubec (Maine) high school has established a vocational aquaculture program in an effort to revitalize the struggling local fishing economy. Five rural Mississippi Delta school districts are raising academic skills and cultural pride through the writing process. The Navajo Nation is reclaiming its culture and developing and retaining native Navajo language-speaking teachers. Hispanic communities in northern New Mexico are focusing on water use and conservation. Twenty-nine school districts in Virginia and Kentucky are engaging students in media projects that address issues confronting central Appalachia. In Missouri, 10-15 rural school districts are working to increase teacher supply and retention. Findings indicate that the engagement of higher education institutions is usually limited to one or two impassioned faculty members in one or two departments or in a separately-created entity in the university. Place-based learning provides a focused and structured means for higher education institutions to impact the lives of vulnerable youth. Place-based learning can engage vulnerable youth in rigorous academics and increase their civic consciousness and participation. While university engagement with communities changes some faculty members' lives, institutional change is harder to effect. Community engagement appears easier for community colleges than universities. Recommendations for enabling institutional engagement are presented. (TD)

Deferring maintenance in small rural schools creates poor conditions that can affect the health and safety of everyone who uses the facility, damage the morale of students and teachers, impair their ability to teach and learn, and threaten the facility itself. Numerous recommendations for policy changes that affect maintenance are presented. A percentage of the replacement cost of the facility should be spent on maintenance. This should be required at the state and district level. Energy conservation and the use of safe materials should be promoted. State policies that require a minimum number of students per building, disqualify renovation projects based on arbitrary formulae of cost ratio to new construction, and promote sprawl should be eliminated. State and local building codes and regulations should be updated to reflect local needs and modern construction practices. Ongoing education for custodians and maintenance workers should be implemented along with a data bank of relevant information. School board members, educators, architects, contractors, and other decision makers should receive education in school maintenance. Regular inspections of school facilities should be required. Students and community members should be encouraged to participate in maintenance and repair projects. Renovation and conversion of existing facilities should be promoted, and feasibility studies of the cost of new construction, renovation, and lease or purchase of existing facilities should be required and discussed in open community forums. State and the federal government should be required to fund maintenance, particularly in poor districts. (Contains 46 references) (TD)

Three components of the teacher shortage are the recruitment challenge, the retention problem, and the demand for teacher quality. Although the teacher shortage problem involves many factors, any solution must address salaries. Rural districts face a threefold disadvantage: teachers are not compensated as well as other rural professionals; rural states pay less than more populated states; and within states, rural teachers have lower salaries than their suburban and urban peers. The consequences of teacher shortages include hiring of under-prepared teachers, more out-of-field teaching assignments, larger classes, fewer advanced course options, less coordinated curriculum, less experienced teaching staff, and fragmented professional development. Educational quality and student learning are seriously compromised. Although improving teaching conditions involves more than increasing compensation, this is the one area that policy makers can directly change and may be the "tripping point" that encourages teachers to remain in rural districts. Since the No Child Left Behind Act requires that all children meet high standards and all teachers be highly qualified, then all districts must be able to offer salaries that will attract excellent candidates. Thus, the competitive market for highly qualified teachers will dictate salaries. In deciding the types of cost adjustments and financial incentives to make, policy makers need to realize that it often takes more money to attract and retain qualified teachers in poorer areas. Policy recommendations include providing equitable compensation for all rural teachers; providing additional incentives for hard-to-staff rural districts; increasing federal support of recruitment strategies; combining financial efforts with policies to improve teacher quality and retention; and supporting rural-specific research. (Contains 24 references.) (TD)

East Feliciana Parish (Louisiana) has raised achievement scores by involving students in hands-on projects related to community needs and resources. Project Connect, a hands-on science and math program begun by the Delta Rural Systemic Initiative, has expanded into a comprehensive place-based program. In response to new state standards, teams of teachers visited place-based education programs elsewhere in the country, seeking advice and ideas from rural educators coping with comparable challenges: low-income populations, struggling local economies, shortages of certified teachers, large proportion of at-risk students, and few local career opportunities for high school graduates. Although 80 percent of district students are African American, the teachers found much to share with teachers working in White, Northern, rural schools. The Louisiana teachers saw examples of student-designed economic development projects and learned the skills of nature study and journaling. Project Connect has also organized 10-day teacher workshops that present skills and concepts of outdoor fieldwork and methods of designing place-based projects aligned with Louisiana's academic standards. Community and Americorps volunteers built nature trails near three schools, providing access to creeks where students monitor water quality and explore the natural environment. The benefits of outdoor hands-on learning are discussed. (SV)

Vermont's Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1997, "Act 60," was designed to rectify inequities in the state's funding of public education, as determined by the Vermont Supreme Court. This report examines the degree to which Act 60 has improved conditions over the last 5 years, focusing on the 3 main equity goals of Act 60 and the court's decision: student resource equity, tax burden equity, and academic achievement equity. Analysis of data for 2001-02 found that Act 60 has made significant progress in reducing inequities in student resources. The gap in per-pupil spending between wealthier and poorer towns dropped to $900 from $2100 in FY98. Act 60 significantly improved past inequities of tax burden for funding local schools. The percentage of income needed to support education dropped in all income categories but the decrease was most dramatic for those earning the least. Academic achievement inequities still exist. However, academic achievement has improved in all categories of wealth, and the gap between wealthier and poorer communities in the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards has decreased. Notable and continuous progress is being made toward providing equal educational opportunities and reducing past educational inequities. The equity gains noted in a previous study have continued and, in most cases, strengthened. Appendices present the previous study's results, operational definitions of variables, and caveats about analyzing academic achievement. (Author/SV)

The Llano Grande Center for Research and Development started as an oral history experiment in two of Texas's poorest school districts. Since the 1920s, when this arid region in the southernmost tip of Texas was first transformed into the orchards and farmlands of the "Magic Valley," workers of Mexican descent have worked the land. Over time, agriculture has declined and unemployment has grown. The Llano Grande Center trained students to use oral history research methods to collect the autobiographical stories of their elders. Older residents now have a documented and honored place in the region's history, expressed in their own words. These have been recorded, transcribed, translated into English, and archived by students, and children at all grade levels have reworked them into fiction, artistic depictions, and even a television documentary. The histories are supplemented by photographs and videos shot by students. The project has revitalized the region's educational, cultural, civic, and economic life and transformed the Llano Grande Center into a regional intellectual and economic nerve-center for local Mexican-American communities. Interest in local folklore, dance, and art has been renewed, and additional grants have funded leadership training and community development. The center's "pedagogy of place" seminars have helped to improved morale, motivation, and methods in the school district, which has improved its performance on the state-wide Texas achievement tests. (TD)

In March 2002, 20 principals, superintendents, and instructional supervisors from the Delta and Black Belt regions of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi met in a Rural School Leaders Working Group. They discussed issues, challenges, and opportunities for school leadership from their perspectives as experienced leaders in what are arguably the most difficult places in the country to operate a school. This report summarizes their discussions on issues and concerned related to improving student learning. Participants reflected on the history of education in the South, from desegregation to the current emphasis on the racial achievement gap; examined common assumptions about the role of professional development and instructional leadership in school improvement; defined and described "excellence" and what it means for school leadership; and identified six key impediments to educational excellence. These factors are shortages of certified teachers and administrators, lack of parent and community involvement, relevance of professional development to instructional delivery and student learning, lack of attention to preparing students for a global society, low expectations for student achievement, and resistance to change. Participants listed critical topics for school leaders' training and development. Strategies for rural school improvement in the South are recommended. Statistical profiles of student race, eligibility for free lunch, and teacher shortages in the four states are included. (SV)

Rural education research has been misunderstood, underfunded, and discouraged, and the resulting collection of work has suffered for it, according to many observers. Various studies--notably, analyses by the U.S. Department of Education itself--identify significant deficiencies in the national body of research on rural schools. Now the federal apparatus for funding educational research is under intense scrutiny and targeted for reform, with proposals expected from both Congress and the Department of Education. The Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) is the principal source of federal aid for educational research. OERI's research program has been criticized for its lack of definition, lack of coordination among its Regional Educational Laboratories and Research and Development Centers, and inadequate dissemination of useable information to schools. While changes to OERI are expected, it remains questionable whether they will address the research needs of rural communities and schools. Instead, information gatherers are increasingly being directed toward "problem-centered" research with the broadest possible applications, effectively consolidating research and abandoning responsibility for rural and other "targeted" populations. This paper discusses common deficiencies in rural education research, some causes for these deficiencies, OERI contributions to rural research (and lack of follow-up), and suggestions for rural advocates. (Contains 25 references.) (SV)

Vermont's Equal Educational Opportunity Act of 1997, Act 60, was designed to rectify educational inequities cited in the State Supreme Court ruling that the state's foundation formula was unconstitutional. This study examines the degree to which Act 60 has improved inequitable conditions in the three main areas cited in the court decision. Findings were that: (1) student resource equity has significantly improved, and financial resources spent on Vermont students no longer correlate to towns' property wealth; (2) tax burden equity has also improved significantly with the lowest-income households now paying the lowest percentage of income for school tax; and (3) academic achievement is still related to community wealth and spending per pupil, but student achievement in all categories of property wealth and spending has improved over the last 3 years, and the achievement gaps between the highest and the lowest property-wealth and spending categories have decreased over the past 3 years. Act 60 is performing according to the requirements of the court. Inequities are diminishing, but local control has not been abandoned. Tax burdens are more appropriately related to income. More children are performing better on statewide assessments. Seven appendices describe the Rural School and Community Trust, research methods, caveats when analyzing academic achievement, recommendations for future studies, definitions of variables used, contact information, and acknowledgements. (TD)

America's prairie land is under economic and ecological stress. Acting on the belief that rural schools can help revitalize their communities when schools' activities are related to the places where they are located, schools in Arizona, Kansas, and Nebraska are integrating prairie studies across the K-12 curricula. With the help of area organizations and volunteers, they use the prairie environment for fieldwork, research, service projects, and entrepreneurial activities. Seligman (Arizona) high school students are working with naturalists from Arizona Game and Fish to reintroduce the rare black-footed ferret to the area. This involves monitoring and researching prairie dogs (their prey) and the species on which they depend. Students are also doing community beautification work and writing a history of Seligman. In the Flint Hills (Kansas), workshops familiarize teachers with place-based educational techniques. One workshop alumna instituted a project in which seniors and third graders jointly studied the area's tallgrass prairie ecosystem and cultural traditions. Another has involved his entire high school in research into local water issues. Through creating a community park, a local primary school studied ecology, community history, and folklore. Boone County (Nebraska) students learn and practice environmental stewardship by helping to transform a local nature preserve from ranch land to its pre-agricultural landscape and by monitoring local water supplies. When students participate in the civic life of the community and initiate projects that benefit their families and neighbors, they become more motivated. Adults stop seeing them as problems and start vesting hope in them for the future. (TD)

The mission of the Rural School and Community Trust is to enlarge student learning and improve community life by strengthening relationships between rural schools and communities and engaging students in community-based public work. Following a message from the president, a section on the Rural Trust's capacity building program presents the six principles upon which the program is based and reviews major accomplishments of 2001. In addition to sponsoring seven regional and national meetings, the capacity building program began the first of a series of educational renewal zones, in which various educational, community, government, and business interests collaborated to address poor teacher supply and quality and lack of access to technology and other resources. The program launched a national youth council, designed an alternative assessment system based on portfolio assessment, and started a rural arts education initiative. A section on policy discusses why empowering rural people and communities is more important than engaging politicians and reviews major accomplishments of the past year. Three new projects to engage rural people in shaping educational policy were funded, three major research reports were released, and a virtual information and advocacy support network was established to link people concerned with rural school facilities, community design, planning, and finance. Also included are financial statements and lists of funders, board of trustee members, and staff. (TD)

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute (Jamestown, New York) has been sparking a regional revival in K-12 nature studies and attracting attention from educators across America. Through summer training sessions and workshops, the Institute introduces multidisciplinary teams of teachers and community members to empirical research techniques for observing and documenting the biophysical and cultural characteristics of their local communities. The Selborne Project, upon which this program is based, encouraged educators to use the one square kilometer surrounding their schools as a living science laboratory, where students learn about natural and human systems and how they interact. Teachers and students use all their senses on regular expeditions to their square kilometer, keeping detailed field notes, making careful sketches, and entering data into personal journals. Human activities or artifacts, such as natural resource use and past architectural styles, receive as much scrutiny as natural components. This instills pride in the local region, which is important in many rural areas that may be seen as deteriorating. Field research is supplemented by visits to local libraries, searches through government records or reports, and Internet searches. The resulting interest in the local community often sparks service learning projects in which students learn the importance of giving back to the community. Many schools affiliated with the program have developed local networks of volunteers, business leaders, and government workers, transforming their schools into more community-oriented institutions. (TD)

Because school systems throughout America depend on local property taxes for much of their revenue, districts with poor property valuations, especially rural districts, are facing fiscal crises. In response to a lawsuit filed in 1991, the Ohio Supreme Court twice decided that the state's heavy reliance on local property taxes for school funding violated provisions in the Ohio Constitution, mandating a thorough and efficient system of common schools throughout the state. The state responded with a "cookie cutter" program of school construction and renovation based on minimum numbers of enrollments and class sizes. This program is forcing school closings and consolidation. Meanwhile, the state has not yet developed equitable per-pupil funding formulas, overhauled its school financing system, provided enough money for the construction and renovation program, or paid for unfunded and partially funded mandates. The issue is still before the state's Supreme Court. Rural Action, a regional organization dedicated to social, economic, and environmental justice, has launched an initiative to help citizens learn about funding and facilities issues, develop priorities for their schools, develop leadership talent, and translate their ideas into action. It has published a series of "Little Red School Books" clarifying tax terms, mechanisms, and policies; compiling readings and resources; and helping communities learn how to set goals in advance of design and construction. It has also organized events where students and teachers meet with state legislators, architects, and agency representatives to explain what their communities need and want. (TD)

This report describes the development and implementation of a place-based curriculum for a small charter high school of 25 students in Wisconsin. The curriculum involved 100 days of field studies in local places such as historical archives, a restored wetland, a river valley, and a senior citizen community center. The students worked with 60 professionals and community members over the year, integrating learning into interdisciplinary courses. The students, who reflected a wide range of skills, abilities, and backgrounds, worked together, as in a one-room schoolhouse. The Iowa Test of Educational Development was taken in September and June. In each section of the test there was significant improvement, and the composite score jumped almost three grade levels over the year. Four reasons are advanced as to why these students scored so well. First, being together every day created a learning community. Students' investment in learning cultivated positive attitudes toward learning. Second, the variety of community settings became readily accessible anchors of memory, helping students to retain learning. Third, the many first-hand experiences were critical to students' learning. Finally, because the projects were relevant to the community, and because students understood that family, friends, and neighbors would view their work, an audience of accountability was created that exerted favorable pressure on student skills and abilities. A table presents pre- and post-test scores in eight subject areas. (TD)

An important feature of the Annenberg Rural Challenge (now the Rural School and Community Trust) was the insistence that all funded projects be organized around networks and clusters. These networks/clusters aimed to help overcome the isolation of rural schools and communities and to multiply possibilities for sharing resources and enlarging the work on place-based education. This report synthesizes information gathered on network and cluster formation, structure, and function over the 4 years of the Rural Challenge grant. An introduction discusses theories on networks in educational settings, the Rural Challenge's vision of rural school reform, earlier rural reform movements, and the Rural Challenge's networking strategies and goals. The 35 distinct projects of the Rural Challenge are then sorted among three types of networks/clusters: large statewide networks that serve as intermediary organizations to smaller clusters of schools and communities; specific program networks that develop and implement fairly well-defined programs in clusters of rural schools; and small clusters that are geographically contiguous, frequently within one county. The three types of networks/clusters are discussed in terms of networking tools and strategies for communicating among members; network evolution; specific missions related to place-oriented curriculum development, community economic development, revitalization of languages and cultures, educational policy reform, and social justice advocacy; their effects on school-community relationships; and implications for the future of the Rural Challenge/Rural Trust. An appendix details 29 projects/networks. (Contains 23 references.) (SV)

The Rural School and Community Trust has made place central to its educational and community-building work. Because the understanding of a place is fundamental to building sustainable communities, Rural Trust schools and communities are committed to providing their children and young people with opportunities to explore, analyze, and contribute to their places. This report explains what learning about place entails and shares practical suggestions and examples of place-based curricula from Rural Trust sites. An introduction sets these efforts in their current and historic social, economic, and political context; outlines common elements that make place-oriented work deep, engaging, and challenging for students; and discusses the design process for a place-based curriculum. Detailed examples are presented: (1) the Selborne Project, in which students focus on many aspects of the square kilometer around their school; (2) cemetery studies in South Dakota and Virginia; (3) interdisciplinary studies, such as a family heritage project in Tennessee, the study of a local stream and its water in Maine, and the Kickapoo River Institute in Wisconsin; (4) studies of the local economy, history, and natural environment in Howard, South Dakota; (5) studies of local renewable energy resources and local artists and artisans in Mendocino, California; (6) development from an oral history project to place-based projects across the curriculum in a south Texas school; and (7) local history projects in Virginia. Some principles are offered for keeping this work going. (SV)