|
RURAL EDUCATION HEADLINES
More Iowa students are taking AP classes than ever
before, yet the state continues to lag behind most others in
the
percentage of students exposed to the classes. Iowa trails other states, some say, because of
an abundance of small high schools without the resources or interest to
offer AP classes.
http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040719/NEWS02/407190316/1001
In rural parts of the nation, districts are taking
creative steps to lure new students to local schools in their quests to
keep those schools open and their communities intact.
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=43Ruraltch.h23
If you build it, they will
come. In the movies, that line referred to a baseball diamond in the
middle of an Iowa cornfield, and the ghostly all-stars who would appear
to play there. In real-life Allen County, however, it means this: If you
build an elementary school in a mostly rural area of Lafayette Township,
hundreds and perhaps thousands of homes will come — despite guidelines
designed to prevent that very thing.
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/9246995.htm
The
teachers and staff at Alcester-Hudson Elementary were disappointed three
years ago when their school was named as one in need of improvement
under federal standards. Today, Alcester-Hudson's 150 elementary
students are exceeding standards, and the school — with help and monthly
visits from
McREL
consultants — has worked its way off the improvement list established by
the No Child Left Behind law. If there's a broader moral in that
experience for the 30 South Dakota schools still
in need of improvement, it's to see the listing as a blessing rather
than a curse.
http://www.argusleader.com/news/Sundayfeature.shtml
Time
has been a significant factor in education for many years, according to
Greeley County Schools
Superintendent Bill Wilson. That’s something his
district is trying to change by creating a new charter school for
seventh- through ninth-graders. "The hope is that we can move from a
system where time is constant and education is a variable to a system
where education is a constant and time is a variable," says Wilson.
http://www.gctelegram.com/news/2004/july/16/story2.html
EVENTS, WORKSHOPS, & OPPORTUNITIES
August
13, 2004, is the deadline to register for the fall session of the Earth
System Science Course for Middle School
Teachers. The 16-week professional
development course was developed by the Center for Education Technologies (CET),
and will be facilitated by educators at
McREL.
Successful participants will earn three semester hours of graduate credit
from the Colorado School of Mines (CSM). The cost of the course is $215,
which includes all of the materials. For more information about the course,
go to http://www.mcrel.org/epo/essea.asp
McREL
and Cardinal Stritch
University invite you to attend the inaugural
Conference on Leadership for the Advancement of Learning and Service, held
on Sept. 23-25 in Milwaukee. This conference crosses disciplines
and sectors, recognizing that effective leadership requires bridging
boundaries. It is designed to inform and support the development of leaders
who are value-centered, mindful, and poised to transform their organizations
and communities through learning and service.
Featured keynote presenters
include Sarah Lightfoot Lawrence of Harvard University, Richard Teerlink,
retired chairman and CEO of Harley-Davidson, Inc., and Sally Helgesen,
author of “Thriving in 24/7.”
http://leadershipconference.stritch.edu/
RESEARCH & REPORTS
A
new
Economic Policy Institute
report shows how more investment in education, from preschool to
college, spurs economic development through increases in productivity,
learned skills, technology and workers' average earnings. The book looks
at more than 180 studies to display tangible links from targeted
education funding to economic benefits.
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/book_smart_money
Short video clips that reinforce key concepts produced statistically
significant gains in student algebra and geometry scores, according to a
new study conducted by research firm Cometrika. The control-based
experiment validated results of a 2002 study, which found that
judiciously selected video clips improved student learning in science
and social studies in three rural Virginia districts.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=5134
A
new white paper from the
Rural School and Community
Trust summarizes
findings of research showing that Missouri’s smaller school districts reduce the
harmful effects of poverty on student achievement. The report concludes
that 1) Poverty has a substantial negative effect on student achievement
in Missouri’s larger districts, but very little
negative effect over achievement in the state’s smaller districts, and
2) Across all levels of poverty and affluence, increased system size is
associated with decreased levels of achievement.
http://www.ruraledu.org/docs/Missouri_Small_Districts.pdf
Nature programmed the hermit crab to adapt existing structures to its
own use. It searches for an empty shell and moves into it; when the crab
grows too large, the shell is abandoned, perhaps to be recycled by a
smaller crab. What rural communities can learn from this unassuming
specialist in adaptive reuse is that finding and reusing cost-effective
accommodations can be a brilliant survival tactic. A new book from
AEL
encourages rural educators to consider a range of such strategies to
help them keep their small schools where they belong — in their
communities.
http://www.ael.org/page.htm?&id=805&pd=res8721
The
National Association of State
Boards of Education (NASBE)
has published a comprehensive compliance manual specially designed to
help rural and small schools comply with the legal requirements of the
No Child Left Behind Act. The 335-page guide includes the relevant
statutory provisions of NCLB, the implications for rural communities,
and practical advice schools can follow to ensure that they are meeting
the letter of the federal education reform law.
http://www.nasbe.org/Front_Page/Press_Release.html
A
new series of books, published by the U.S. Department of Education’s
Office of Innovation and
Improvement,
highlights how school systems around the country — large and small,
rural and urban — have put the tenets of the No Child Left Behind Act
successfully to work. The "Innovations in Education" series describes
creative ways for schools to meet the opportunities and challenges of
the law. Three new books cover “Successful
Charter Schools,”
“Creating
Strong Supplemental Educational Services Programs,”
and “Creating
Strong District School Choice Programs.”
Three books coming this fall will detail strategies and techniques to
develop “Successful Magnet Schools,” “Alternative Routes to Teacher
Certification,” and “Alternative Routes to School Leadership.” To
receive copies of the books, explore co-publishing opportunities, or get
additional information about the series, contact Cynthia Dorfman
(202-205-5560,
Cynthia.Dorfman@ed.gov).
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oii/index.html?src=oc
Grants & Funding
Opportunities
The
Victor Clarke Youth Incentive Program offers grants of up to $1,000 to
afterschool nonprofits, specifically to create or maintain amateur youth
radio programs. Funds can go towards the purchase or maintenance of
equipment, instruction materials, and publicity. A preference is given
to programs providing some degree of local matching funds. All
nonprofit afterschool programs in the United States are
eligible to apply. Applications accepted year-round.
http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/vicyip.html
The
2005 Toyota TAPESTRY program will award 50 grants of up to $10,000 each
and a minimum of 20 "mini-grants" of $2,500 each to K-12 science
teachers with proposals for innovative science projects that can be
implemented in their schools or school districts over a one-year period.
Proposals should demonstrate creativity and vision, and model a novel
way of presenting science. All K-12 teachers of science residing in the United States or U.S.
territories or possessions are eligible to apply, as are elementary
teachers who teach science in a self-contained classroom setting or as
teaching specialists. Application deadline: January 19, 2005.
http://www.nsta.org/programs/tapestry/
Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman has announced that $9 million in
grant funds are available for connecting essential community facilities,
including libraries and schools, in rural towns and communities where no
broadband service exists. In return, grant recipients must make at least
10 computers available to the public with set hours and instruction
available for use on the Internet. The notice of funding availability
appears in the
July 28 Federal Register.
All applications must be received by September 13, 2004.
http://www.usda.gov/Newsroom/0311.04.html
|
Subscription Information
This subscription is a free service offered by Mid-continent Research
for Education and Learning (McREL). Based in Aurora, Colorado, McREL is a
private, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to improve education
through applied research and development. McREL provides products and
services, primarily for K-12 educators, to promote the best instructional
practices in the classroom.
To subscribe, submit your name and e-mail address to:
join-ruralnews@mcrel.net.
Should you choose to unsubscribe, you may do so at any time:
unsubscribe-ruralnews@mcrel.net.
You can always reach the Rural E-News administrator, Michael Arnold, via
e-mail at marnold@mcrel.org. If you have a question, or ever need to change
your contact information, simply e-mail the administrator.
William Lowe Boyd, Ph.D.
Batschelet Chair Professor of Educational Administration
Professor-in-Charge of Graduate Programs in Educational Administration
Department of Education Policy Studies
Pennsylvania State University
300 Rackley Building
E-mail: wlboyd@psu.edu
Office: 814-863-3779
FAX: 814-865-1480
University Park, PA 16802, USA
Home Page: http://www.personal.psu.edu/i6b/
PSU Educational Administration Program web address:
http://www.ed.psu.edu/edadm/
Pennsylvania Education Policy Center web site:
http://www.ed.psu.edu/pepc/ |
