McRel Rural E-News, No. 47, September 2005

1. Soaring fuel costs could break school budgets Stateline.org
Classes barely have started, but school officials nationwide already fear that soaring fuel prices caused by Hurricane Katrina will burn through their annual budgets for bus transportation and heating long before the academic year ends. Many school districts already are looking for ways to save on fuel and have asked that public schools be exempted from state gasoline taxes, or that state lawmakers appropriate emergency funds to help cover expected record heating costs this winter.

2. E-learning in Montana takes flight Helena (Mont.) Independent Record
Founded a year ago, the Montana Schools ELearning Consortium (MSELC) will begin its first semester of classes next week. The aim of the organization is to provide a diverse education for Montana students who live in isolated communities and provide students in larger districts the chance to make up missed classes or accelerate their path to graduation. Course offerings run the gamut from traditional courses in English, science, social studies and math to electives, including art and physical education, foreign language and business.

3. Forum focuses on wide gaps in early learning Indian Country Times
Experts representing 17 American Indian tribes met to review progress toward goals for American Indian and Alaska Native early learning, following new findings that rural Native children are significantly
behind most rural and non-rural ethnic and income groups in key early literacy skills. Rural Early Childhood, a research program of Mississippi State University, convened the forum with researchers
at Pennsylvania State University.

4. Online program offers AP classes Casper (Wyoming) Star-Tribune
Students across Wyoming soon will have access to online Advanced Placement courses thanks to a
new cooperative effort between the Wyoming EAcademy of Virtual Learning and Apex Learning.
Studies indicate that participation in such courses can improve students� chances of success in college.
However, about 43 percent of U.S. high schools do not offer AP courses; many of those are rural schools, where there often are too few students or a shortage of teachers to provide the rigorous
curriculum.

5. NSBA T+L2 Rural Pre-conference: Can Technology Help Save Rural Schools?
October 25, Denver, Colo.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige hailed the Internet as the "eighth wonder of the world" and encouraged rural schools to tap its power to meet the challenges of NCLB. But can technology help save rural schools? And if so, how? Join McREL for a full-day, pre-conference session to learn from rural educators, researchers, and others who have found ways to use technology to provide rural students with a world-class education. Also, discover what the future may bring so that you can prepare your rural school or district for the challenges and opportunities that lie over the horizon.

6. 97th Annual NREA Convention November 5-9, Tuscon, Ariz.
This year�s theme for the National Rural Education Association convention is �Rural Kids Count.� Several McREL staff members will be presenting sessions at the conference:

7. The Influence of Standards on K-12 Teaching & Student Learning
McREL
In their latest research synthesis, McREL researchers set out to answer the question, is there evidence
that standards have fulfilled their purpose of improving both teaching and learning? For the study, McREL researchers examined 113 rigorous studies that examined the impact of standards-based
education on instruction and learning. Key findings from the study are that standards-based curricula and standards-based instructional guidelines can influence teachers to adopt reform-oriented instructional practices, that standards-based state assessments influence both the content and pedagogy of classroom instruction, and that at-risk students may experience less access to reform-oriented instruction than more advantaged students.

8. Power of Rural Philanthropy
New Ventures in Philanthropy
Rural philanthropy generates more than a billion dollars annually for health care, education, and other community needs and is growing across the US, according to a new report from New Ventures in Philanthropy, an initiative of the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers. It notes that community foundation affiliate funds � local funds created by and for specific communities � have
increased by 132% in the past six years and control an estimated $1.5 billion in endowed assets;
the majority of these funds serve rural areas.

9. How to Recruit & Retain Teachers & School Leaders in Hard-to-Staff Rural & Small School Districts
SERVE
The SERVE Center's upcoming publication How to Recruit and Retain Teachers and Other School
Leaders in Hard-to-Staff Rural and Small School Districts is a response to the needs expressed by
superintendents in the Rural School District Superintendents' Network at SERVE, a network of high-performing superintendents from SERVE�s six-state region. The guide will be available in October.

RESOURCES & GRANTS

10. NACo Meth Action Clearinghouse
The National Association of Counties (NACo), is taking a leading role in the effort to bring the methamphetamine epidemic to the attention of government officials and the public. NACo's Meth
Action Clearinghouse provides information on federal, state and local efforts to combat the meth
epidemic in America, as well as background information and useful links for counties seeking to
mount or extend their campaigns against methamphetamine use.

11. ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award
Nomination deadline: October 15, 2005. The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development
Outstanding Educator Award seeks to recognize a teacher under the age of 40 who demonstrates
excellence in his or her profession. Criteria include a positive impact on students, creativity in the classroom, and leadership in his or her school or district. Maximum Award: $10,000. Eligibility: teachers under age 40.

12. Fund for Teachers: Professional Development Grants
2006 application available: October 10, 2005. Fund for Teachers is a unique foundation whose mission is to enrich the lives of school teachers and students by providing recognition and opportunities for renewal to outstanding teachers. Making a difference one teacher at a time, Fund for Teachers awards grants of up to $5,000 directly to classroom teachers with a minimum of three years experience to support professional development opportunities of their own design. Grants will be made solely to fund participation by grant recipients in summer professional and personal development activities. Applicants must be employed as a public or private teacher in K-12th grade at the time grants are approved and made.