RURAL EDUCATION HEADLINES
Fewer students and soaring operating costs have led six
school districts in eastern Colorado to create an informal alliance,
sharing everything from advice to buses — and in the case of two
districts, a superintendent.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2228944,00.html
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.
www.edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=39Recruit.h23&keywords=Alan%20Richard
Once, rural North Carolina found hope in factories and
fields, imagined its future rolling off assembly lines and sprouting
from fertile soil. But as factories move across the ocean and small
farms disappear, North Carolina's textile and tobacco country is in
search of new hope. It is looking, for the first time, to its own
people.
newsobserver.com/news/nc/economy/series/story/1292384p-7414261c.html
Signing bonuses. Free advanced degree education. The
promise of a quiet life in rural South Carolina. These are a few
incentives that officials from the state’s rural school districts
dangled in front of job-seeking teachers at the yearly teacher expo at
the State Fairgrounds in Columbia on Monday.
www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/8866134.htm
5.
Awakening to
change.
St. Paul Pioneer
Press (requires free registration)
In less than a generation, the schools in Sleepy Eye,
Minn. have been transformed. Hispanics now make up nearly one-third of
the student body compared to 15 years ago when they represented just 3
percent. While Sleepy Eye still struggles to reduce the achievement gap
between white students and Hispanic students, it has developed a
statewide reputation for offering innovative programs and outreach
efforts to English-language learners and Hispanic students.
www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/8916595.htm?1c
EVENTS, WORKSHOPS, & OPPORTUNITIES
July 1 is the planned start-up date for the National Rural
Education Advocacy Coalition (NREAC). NREAC is an ambitious project
involving the NREA, NREA State Affiliates Organizations, the American
Association of School Administrators and other education organizations to
mobilize national support for rural education at the national level.
www.nrea.net/awards%20&%20other/Formation%20Document.doc
This July, McREL is providing 2-3 day opportunities for
teachers, principals, professional development coordinators, and other
district personnel to develop the research-based knowledge and skills they
need to create more effective classrooms, schools, and districts. Topics
include assessment, instruction, school leadership, reading instruction, and
early literacy. Visit
http://www.mcrel.org/topics/academies.asp to learn
more.
The McREL Fellows Program, a one-year, intensive professional
development opportunity for school principals, provides participants with
extensive knowledge of how to identify the “right things to do” in school
improvement, how to lead schools to make those improvements, and which
leadership behaviors McREL’s research suggests are most likely to produce
gains in student achievement. Visit
www.mcrel.org/fellows for more information.
NASA’s Genesis mission will dispatch a sample return capsule
that will re-enter Earth's atmosphere for a planned mid-air capture at the
U.S. Air Force Utah Test and Training Range on Sept. 8. To make use of this
teachable moment for classrooms and the public, the mission is offering five
summer academies for teachers in Colorado, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Texas, and
Utah.
http://genesismission.jpl.nasa.gov/product/conferences&events.html
RESEARCH & REPORTS
A new study by researchers at the Center for Social
Organization of Schools at the Johns Hopkins University measures the
“promoting power” of 10,000 high schools — the difference between the
number of freshmen in each school and the number of seniors there four
years later. The report finds that, in general, the “promoting power” of
rural schools is stronger than urban schools, but weaker than suburban
schools. However, in some states, most notably, North and South
Carolina, the majority of high schools with weak promoting power are
located in small towns or rural areas.
www.csos.jhu.edu/tdhs/rsch/Locating_Dropouts.pdf
Hilarie B. Davis’ article in the June 2004 edition of
Cable in the Classroom’s Threshold magazine asserts that
technology can be used successfully to bridge the support, community,
information, and resource deficiencies that teachers report make them
more likely to leave a school. Moreover, technology can also bridge the
time, distance, and information gaps that prevent many schools from
hiring the most qualified teachers available.
www.ciconline.org/NR/rdonlyres/eztczjdlhhqs44uikljmcu5nphlibiwuoyq6t4zgeo2jvvt257utwbal...
The Missouri Association of Rural Education (M.A.R.E.)
has created a summary of national small schools research as well as
Missouri-specific data to document the value of small and rural schools
in Missouri. It provides research and data related to student
achievement curriculum, school costs, student engagement, parent
involvement, school safety, funding, and the economic impact on the
community.
www.moare.com/Misc/Value_of_Small_Sch-FINAL_.pdf
PEOPLE, INFORMATION & RESOURCES
Under a bill introduced in the House of Representatives
by
Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) and
Tom Osborne (R-Neb.), teachers in rural and low-income schools would receive an
annual, refundable $1,000 tax credit on their federal income tax and
board-certified teachers would receive an annual $2,000 tax credit.
Learn more on the Organizations Concerned about Rural Education (OCRE)
Web site:
www.ruralschools.org/news/nrvideo.html.
If you are an administrator whose district has received
Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) funds, Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.)
invites you to complete an
online survey on how your district has used
these funds. He will share the results with the U.S. Department of
Education. Learn more about REAP at
www.ed.gov/nclb/freedom/local/reap.html
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) reports that many
recipients of 2002 REAP funds have not yet spent their FY 2002 Small,
Rural School Achievement (SRSA) grants. These funds, which may be used
to support a wide array of local activities specified in ED’s
REAP guidelines, must be obligated by
September 30 and spent by December 31, 2004. If you have questions about
authorized uses of REAP funds, contact your
state coordinator or ED’s REAP group at
REAP@ed.gov.
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