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RURAL EDUCATION HEADLINES
Atlanta Journal Constitution (requires
free registration)
A group of parents and more than 50 rural school districts
filed suit claiming that Georgia’s method of funding schools leaves systems
without adequate resources to prepare the state’s children. The lawsuit
argues that rural schools are in financial crisis, and that the state has
consistently and significantly under-funded schools, preventing students
from getting the adequate education promised in the state constitution.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0904/14ruralsuit.html
More than any other region, the South
faces a challenge in giving students in small, poor and rural
school districts advantages comparable to students in
larger, wealthier districts, a new Southern Governors Association report
says. Experts told governors from across the region Monday that the gap
between wealthy suburban districts and those in rural areas steadily losing
populations and tax bases is widening.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/virginia/dp-sou--sga-ruralschools0913sep13,0,5176504.story?coll=dp-headlines-virginia
Estimates
show that 15,000 new teachers are
needed in Tennessee classrooms over the next decade. To fill those shoes, the state has set aside
$500,000 for a new teacher recruitment center. Tennessee wants to develop
new ways to snare the interest of high school and college students. Another
big push will go toward luring teachers from other states.
http://tennessean.com/education/archives/04/09/58429088.shtml?Element_ID=58429088
Across the country, more school
districts are competing for a share of federal tutoring funds by providing
their own after-school services to low-achieving students. In some cases,
districts are banding together to provide supplemental services. Supporters
of in-house tutoring say districts offer students access
to certified
teachers familiar with the curriculum; critics question how a system whose
failure created the need for remedial help in the first place can then be
permitted to provide the tutors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36868-2004Sep20.html
The war against an illegal drug that
has reached near epidemic proportions in and around rural Greene County
within the last couple of years is headed to the Indiana Statehouse.
Legislation will be
introduced that will seek to restrict the public's
access to cold and allergy medications that contain pseudoephedrine — a key
ingredient used in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine.
http://www.dailycitizen.com/articles/2004/09/27/news/meth.txt
The U.S. Department of Education has
awarded contracts for three new research centers, including the Center
on Rural
Education, which will be based at University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill. The new Center on Rural Education will focus on the transitions that
students in rural areas make from home to school and from elementary to
middle school. Director Thomas W. Farmer said his center would also study
distance-learning programs that can bring rigorous coursework, such as
Advanced Placement courses, to secondary school students in remote areas.
http://www.edweek.com/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=04choice.h24&keywords=center%20on%20rural%20education
7.
McREL honors Wyo. Sen. Mike Enzi’s commitment to rural education
McREL newsroom
Mid-continent Research for Education
and Learning (McREL) recognized Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) for his longstanding
commitment to rural education during a Capitol Hill reception on Sept. 14.
In introducing Enzi, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) noted that while he and
Enzi are from different political parties and may have different views on
policies, Enzi’s personality and character have won him many admirers on the
other side of the aisle.
http://www.mcrel.org/newsroom/Enzi.asp
EVENTS, WORKSHOPS, & OPPORTUNITIES
8.
National Rural Education Association (NREA) 2004 Annual Convention
The 2004 Annual NREA Convention
will be in Indianapolis, Indiana, from October 19-22, 2004. This year’s
theme is “Rural Schools: Crossroads to Our Future — Charting a New
Direction!” Be sure to visit McREL’s exhibit booth at this year’s
convention.
www.nrea.net/2004NreaConvention.htm
9.
Wyoming leadership consortium
McREL and the Wyoming Department
of Education are offering a professional development program for Wyoming
school leaders based on McREL’s ground-breaking research on effective school
leadership. Through a mix of discussion, case studies, simulations, and
one-on-one coaching, school leaders will learn how to
guide successful school improvement efforts.
Program costs will be covered by the state of Wyoming. Participants must
cover travel and lodging costs. To learn more or receive an application,
contact Dr. James Bailey at McREL (303-632-5520, jbailey@mcrel.org).
http://www.mcrel.org/topics/serviceDetail.asp?topicsID=7&serviceID=67
McREL is offering a new,
year-long professional development program for school leaders based on
Balanced Leadership, our
in-depth examination of effective leadership drawn from 30 years of
research. The series of three workshops (totaling seven days of professional
development) is paired with ongoing, online support to help participants
learn from research where to focus school improvement efforts and how to
effectively lead those efforts.
www.mcrel.org/fellows
RESEARCH & REPORTS
11.
Journal of Rural Education Research now online
The Journal of Research in
Rural Education, established in 1982 by the College of Education and
Human Development at the University of Maine, reports the
results of educational research that is of demonstrable relevance to
rural settings. With Volume 19, JRRE has converted to an online
open-access journal. Volume 19, Number 1, includes an article by
Arlie Woodrum of Ohio University, titled “State-Mandated Testing and
Cultural Resistance in Appalachian Schools: Competing Values and
Expectations.” The article is available at
http://www.umaine.edu/jrre/19-1.htm.
The journal is online at
http://www.umaine.edu/jrre/index.htm.
12.
GAO: Additional assistance and research on effective strategies would
help small rural districts
A new GAO report concludes that
rural school districts are in need of additional assistance to implement
the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. According to the
report, “Rural districts … identified small school size and geographic isolation
as greatly affecting their ability to implement NCLBA.” Lack of
teacher-training facilities and Internet access were also cited as
obstacles to the full implementation of NCLBA.
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04909.pdf
13.
Small Southern high schools beating the odds in poor
rural communities
High schools in poverty-stricken
rural areas and small towns in the South are beating the odds to
outperform most
other schools in their state. In a new report prepared for the Southern
Governor's Association, Beating the Odds: High Performing High
Schools in the South, the Rural School and Community Trust
chronicles exceptional schools in the poorest regions of the rural South and
the secrets behind the high quality education they provide.
http://www.ruraledu.org/docs/beatingodds/SGAreport.pdf
14.
New report finds significant benefits of distance
learning in rural education
In a new report from the Rural
School and Community Trust, The Promise and the Power of Distance
Learning in Rural Education, Vicki Hobbs explains how the benefits
of distance learning, and in particular two-way
interactive television
(I-TV), can far outweigh the costs-allowing small, rural schools to
retain the assets associated with their small size, while overcoming
curricular limitations.
http://www.ruraledu.org/newsroom/distancelearning.htm
RESOURCES & INFORMATION
The Mathematics Education Trust of
the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) will award up to
$6,000 to help educators teach mathematics more effectively at the
elementary level by deepening their mathematical content knowledge and
increasing their teaching abilities. The recipient of the Eizen grant
will work collaboratively with other teachers in the same district to
improve mathematics instruction. The recipient is expected to become a
teacher leader in mathematics and to develop expertise in specific
mathematics content aligned with NCTM's Principles and Standards for
School Mathematics. Recipients should be confident in teaching
mathematics and
should routinely extend the classroom beyond the textbook
with the goal of furnishing comprehensive, in-depth instruction to
elementary school students. Deadline: December 3, 2004.
http://www.nctm.org/about/met/eizen.htm
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's
Innovation Fund provides grants to nonprofit organizations to spark the
creation or expansion of innovative education programs in a particular
field. For 2005 grants, the Foundation invites proposals from
non-remedial, out-of-school programs in critical reading and/or writing
for elementary or middle school students. Programs should be designed to
help students build high-level reading and/or writing skills to help
them excel in rigorous academic environments as they mature. Programs
must operate in the United States and serve low-to-moderate-income
students. The Foundation encourages applications from rural communities,
small towns, and other underserved areas. Each grant will total between
$100,000 and $200,000 and may cover one or two years of program
work. The Foundation anticipates awarding
three grants, which will be announced in March 2005. Deadline: October
15, 2004.
http://www.jackkentcookefoundation.org/jkcf_web/content.aspx?page=2414227
Help ASCD search out, highlight
and celebrate the accomplishments of young educators who achieve
excellence and equity in teaching and learning.
The ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award candidate is an education
professional, 40 years of age or younger who demonstrates exemplary
commitment and exceptional contribution to the profession.
http://www.ascd.org/cms/index.cfm?TheViewID=1655
The Libri Foundation is a
nationwide nonprofit organization that donates up to $700 per award in
high-quality, hardcover children's books to small, rural public
libraries in the United States through its Books for Children program.
The books donated through the Books for Children program are used for
storytelling; toddler, preschool, and after-school programs; summer
reading programs; “book buddy” programs, in which older children read to
younger children; holiday programs; teacher check-out and curriculum
support; early childhood development programs; school projects; and just
to provide children with a “good read.” Applicants' Friends of Library
programs or other local initiatives are expected to contribute up to
$350 toward the project, which the Libri Foundation will match on a
2-to-1
ratio. The foundation awards grants three times a year. Application
deadlines are March 15, July 15, and Dec. 15.
http://www.librifoundation.org/
Through its Computers for Learning
program, the federal government has placed hundreds of thousands of
surplus computers in schools across the country on a needs-first basis.
Schools register and request equipment on the Computers for
Learning Web site, and federal agencies match their surplus equipment to
schools with those needs. Most, but not all, of the available computers
are Windows-based PCs rather than computers made by Apple. Most of the
donated machines are older models, but as the government
continues to upgrade its computer systems, the number of surplus Pentium
computers will sharply increase. Computers and equipment are not
refurbished by the government before being shipped to schools, nor are
they covered by warranty.
http://www.computers.fed.gov/Public/home.asp
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