The Rural Solution

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The Rural Solution

How Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education

Doris Terry Williams, Rural School and Community Trust September 2010


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The Rural SolutionHow Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education

Doris Terry Williams, Rural School and Community Trust September 2010


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Contents 1 Introduction and summary

4 The rural landscape

7 The rural school challenge and

community school opportunity

16 Three examples of effective rural community schools

27 Common elements across community schools

28 Challenges and solutions to implementing

rural community schools

33 Conclusion

35 Endnotes


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Introduction and summary | www.americanprogress.

Introduction and summary

One in ve sudens in he Unied Saes19.4 percenatends a public ele-

menary or secondary school designaed as rural. Te view ouside he classroom

window or some o hese sudens is one o scenic elds, pasure lands, or oress

nesled a he base o mounains.1 Bu variaions across rural America can be

sunning. Some sudens have a view o he pollued coasline where heir parens,

grandparens, and even grea grandparens used to make a living, he abandoned

mining equipmen ha once ied heir amilies livelihoods o he company sore,

or he vas clear-cu space ha was once a ores amid rolling hills. Tese visualconrass mirror he diverse culural, social, economic, and poliical realiies ha

make rural places wha hey are oday.

Te siuaions surrounding rural educaionlike he views rom he classroom

windowsvary widely rom place o place. Bu wha rural places have in com-

mon is he challenge o provide a qualiy educaion o ensure he success o some

10 million sudens. Tis challenge oen comes wih dicul oddsinadequae

nancing, eacher shorages, and inaccessible or unaordable services or children

and amilies. Te parnerships and approach o ull-service communiy schools

may hold he greaes poenial or addressing rural educaions challenges and

ensuring ha every child has a leas a near-equal opporuniy o succeed.

Tis paper combines daa rom he lieraure and oher public sources, inerviews,

sie visis, and he organizaional experience o Te Rural School and Communiy

rus in an examinaion o communiy schools rom a rural perspecive. I provides

a conex or rural communiy schools and discusses he need or claricaion o

he language used o describe he concep o communiy school. Tree examples

o successul rural communiy schools provide a ramework or discussing he ben-

es, characerisics, and policy implicaions o rural communiy schools.

Te paper also discusses he challenges ha rural areas conron in atemping o

implemen a communiy school sraegy and oers recommendaions or over-

coming hem:


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Introduction and summary | www.americanprogress.

in rural areas. Te curren resrucuring sraegy or underperorming ile I

schools requires he disric o replace eachers and school leaders. Tis sraegy

is oen no easible or rural schools ha have a smaller pool o poenial each-

ers and adminisraors rom which o draw. Communiy schools are a promising

alernaive sraegy or hese schools in rural areas.

Congress and state legislatures should increase investments in community

schools. Sae governmens should und sraegic planning processes or com-

muniy school developmen and implemenaion in rural places, he ederal

governmen should increase unding or he Full Service Communiy Schools

Program, and he U.S. Deparmen o Educaion should provide echnical assis-

ance hrough inermediary organizaions o help level he eld or rural disrics

in compeiive gran compeiions.

Full-service communiy schools may well provide he greaes opporuniy or

qualiy educaion and success in rural communiies where resources are ew.Communiy schools oer a much-needed alernaive o radiional schooling

models even in rural communiies ha are no economically sressed.


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4 Center or American Progress | The Rural Solution

The rural landscape

Tere is no single prole or rural America. Tere is likewise no single prole or

rural schools. Dieren challenges and opporuniies abound in every rural school

communiy. Tese challenges and opporuniies oen are le unatended by

policymakers, philanhropic eniies, and ohers. Ye here is litle ha our naion

can do o change our overall educaion picure i i leaves behind rural schools,

children, and communiies.

Rural schools

Te Naional Cener or Educaion Saisics has designaed nearly one-hird

(32.3 percen) o he public elemenary and secondary schools in America as

rural. Te percenages o rural schools range rom 9.5 percen in he sae o New

Jersey o 76.9 percen in Souh Dakoa. Tere are 15 saes where more han

hal o all schools are rural: Souh Dakoa, Monana, Norh Dakoa, Vermon,

Maine, Alaska, Nebraska, Wyoming, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, New Hampshire,

Alabama, Wes Virginia, and Kansas. A leas one-hird o he schools are rural in

14 oher saes. Saes ha are sparsely populaed or where ransporaion is di-

cul end o have he highes percenages o rural schools.2

Rural school and district size

Almos one-hird (30.5 percen) o he naions rural school disrics are consid-

ered small, which means ha enrollmen is below 535 sudenshe median

enrollmen or public school disrics in he Unied Saes. A leas hal o he rural

disrics in eigh saes all ino his caegory: Norh Dakoa, Monana, Vermon,Souh Dakoa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Maine, and Alaska.3

Disrics end o be smaller overall in rural places, bu here are wide variaions

in disric size. Rural, high-povery disrics ha serve a disproporionaely high


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60 percen o sudens in hese disrics are

sudens o color, and he povery rae among

hem is more han double ha in oher disrics.

Sudens in hese disrics are wice as likely as

oher rural sudens and 24 percen more likely

han sudens in all oher disrics o be Englishlanguage learners. Disrics wih he lowes

graduaion raes end o serve disproporion-

aely high numbers o children o color.8

Te Rural rus sudy also idenied 20 high-

perorming disrics among he 616 high-pov-

ery disrics.9 Tese high-perorming disrics

ranked in he op 20 percen in graduaion raes

in heir respecive saes and in reading and mahemaics prociency on heir

2007-2008 sae conen exams. Te mos noable dierence beween he high-perorming and low-perorming disrics was racial composiion: 83 percen o

sudens in he high-perorming high-povery disrics were whie, and English

language learners made up less han 1 percen o he suden populaion.

Rural school finance

Te highes povery rural disrics spend less money per pupil han oher dis-

rics. Te 616 high-povery disrics menioned earlier spend $7,731 per pupil

compared o $8,134 or all oher rural disrics and $9,611 or nonrural disrics

naionally.10 Tis unding dispariy creaes inequiies in oher areas as well,

including eacher pay and aciliies, which can be atribued in large par o awed

school nance sraegies ha reinorce a dependency on local budges, compei-

ive grans, and unding ormulas ha resul in inequiable suppor o rural versus

nonrural disrics. Six saes spend less han $4,500 per suden in heir poores

rural disric, and seven oher saes spend less han $5,000.11

Percent of rural students living in poverty by state

33 percent to 50 percent

Greater than 50 percent

Jerry Johnson & Ma rty Strange, Why Rural Matters:

2009 (Arlington: The Rural School & Community

Trust, 2009).


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The rural school challenge and community school opportunity | www.americanprogress.

The rural school challenge and

community school opportunity

Rural schools are expeced o provide a qualiy educaion or all sudens while

overcoming challenges such as ransporaion barriers, srained resources, and

lack o access o needed services. Ye hese schools are mos oen a he mercy

o ohers who are exernal o he school sysem o provide hem wih he means

o accomplish ha goal. School disrics depend primarily upon unding made

available by local, sae, and ederal policymakers. Te abiliy o atrac and reain

eecive eachers, provide and mainain suiable aciliies, and have children ener

school ready o learn are all issues ha exend beyond he school isel. Teseissues ake on paricular signicance in rural areas, and all secors o he commu-

niy and all levels o governmen mus see hem as a shared responsibiliy.

Issues facing rural schools

Finding the will to educate

Te hisory o race, power, and oppression in he Unied Saes, combined wih

he disadvanages suered disproporionaely by children o color and children

o povery, suggess ha providing a qualiy educaion or all children may be as

much a mater o poliical will as i is a mater o resources in many rural commu-

niies. Te problem is especially prevalen in he rural Souh where he high num-

ber and percenage o rural children o color lead many o believe ha he qualiy

o educaion is a maniesaion o sysemaic, insiuionalized oppression.12

Te Naional Algebra Projec, ounded by disinguished scholar and Civil Righs

icon Bob Moses, has compared he curren crisis in he educaion o poor children

and children o color o he sysemaically conrived illieracy o sharecropperswho were denied an educaion and subsequenly denied he righ o voe because

o heir illieracy. Sharecropper illieracy, he organizaion saed in a memoran-

dum o paricipans in is rs naional conerence on qualiy educaion, was he

hidden subex o he sruggle or he righ o voe and he sysemaic denial o he


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opporuniy or a qualiy public school educaion has been he hidden subex o

he sruggle or poliical righs in he broades sense in his counry.13 Te hisory

o Naive-American educaion in he Unied Saes raises similar concerns.

Attracting and retaining effective teachers

Schools across he counry sruggle o atrac and reain eecive eachers. Many

rural schools ace he unique challenge o rying o atrac eachers o high-needs,

low-ameniy areas while being unable o pay salaries compeiive wih suburban

and urban schools.14 Rural schools are oen orced o ake drasic measures o

overcome eacher shorages including consolidaing classes, employing ou-o-

eld eachers, and decreasing course oerings.15

Addressing students special needs

Rural sudens ace many o he same diculies as urban sudens in receiving

much-needed healh and social services. Te low number o healh care provid-

ers in rural areas limis access o physical, menal healh, and denal.16 Disance

and limied ransporaion opions may make i dicul or amilies o ap ino

services ha migh be provided by inormal associaions and organizaions, as well

as he more ormal social service providers such as couny welare oces, public

healh services, and ood disribuion ceners.

Providing access to community institutions

Many rural sudens spend wo hours or more a day geting o and rom school.

Te ime required o go o and rom school can reduce opporuniies or sudens

o engage in exracurricular and aer-school enrichmen aciviies. Sudens may

also ravel rom areas where access o communiy insiuions such as libraries,

parks, recreaion ceners, and heaers is limied or nonexisen.

Maintaining public facilities

Many rural communiies need new or upgraded public aciliies, including new

school buildings, bu unding new consrucion and upgrading exising srucures

is a persisen challenge.17 Rural school disrics especially suer when school


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The rural school challenge and community school opportunity | www.americanprogress.

consrucion allocaions are ied o propery values since hey end o have lower

propery value assessmens. Older rural residens who live in higher-value propery

areas and do no have school-aged children may be unwilling o pay or necessary

improvemens. And rural communiies may nd i dicul o galvanize suppor or

bond issues, urher complicaing a disrics abiliy o build new aciliies.18

The community school solution

Full-service communiy schools are poenially an imporan soluion o he

problems conroning many rural children, amilies, and schools oday. Ta can

include he issues o inequiy in services and o social, economic, and poliical

injusice. Indeed, communiy schools hold perhaps he greaes poenial o all

innovaions o ulll our responsibiliy as a democraic sociey o provide a qualiy

educaion or all children. Te communiy school model can capialize on many o

he asses oered in rural schools.

Unorunaely, he communiy school concep is couched in language ha has

become so pollued ha he concep someimes ges disored, and he language

becomes a ool or promoing ill-inenioned agendas. Neighborhood schools,

communiy schools, and good schools close o home can all become codes or

he re-segregaion o schools, mos oen on he basis o race bu also on he basis

o socioeconomics. Tere mus be a broader and more jusice-oriened under-

sanding o he concep o communiy in order or he concep o communiy

schools o be useul in high-needs, racially and ehnically heerogeneous setings.

Tis is no o sugges ha schools ha are racially, ehnically, or socioeconomically

disinc canno be good communiy schools. I is a reminder, however, ha com-

muniy is no merely a geographically dened space where groups o people live

wih insiuions and srucures ha serve heir common ineress. Communiy is

also a place where people and insiuions, including schools, collaborae o build

social capial ha in urn srenghens schools, amilies, and communiies. Auhor

Peer Block emphasizes ha he erm communiy insinuaes boh ownership

and membership. Communiy, he says, is abou he experience o belonging.

o belong o a communiy is o ac as a creaor or co-owner o ha communiy.Communiy is he conainer wihin which our longing o be is ullled.19

Wha, hen, is a communiy school? Te U.S. Deparmen o Educaion denes a

ull-service communiy school as an elemenary or secondary school ha works

wih is local educaional agency and communiy-based organizaions, nonpro


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organizaions, and oher public or privae eniies o provide a coordinaed and

inegraed se o comprehensive academic, social, and healh services ha respond

o he needs o is sudens, sudens amily members, and communiy members.

Te schools resuls-ocused parnershipsare based on idenied needs and

organized around a se o muually dened resuls and oucomes.20

Te Coaliion or Communiy Schools denes a communiy school as boh a

place and a se o parnerships beween he school and oher communiy resources.

Is inegraed ocus on academics, healh and social services, youh and communiy

developmen, and communiy engagemen leads o improved suden learning,

sronger amilies, and healhier communiies. Schools become ceners o he com-

muniy and are open o everyoneall day, every day, evenings and weekends.21

How hen can we operaionalize hese noions o communiy schools in rural

areas? Engagemen in communiy schools occurs when parens, sudens, school

sa, and neighbors inves in he school, co-creaing and owning i. Tere is aconscious eor o ensure ha services are no merely co-locaed bu inegraed in

a way ha increases he social capial ha goes ino overcoming or removing he

barriers o suden, amily, and communiy success and ciizenship.

A ocus on communiy building allows hese schools o become ceners ha prac-

ice he basic principles o a democraic sociey and remove he sense o isolaion,

and where service providers see hemselves and are seen as communiy mem-

bers guided by hose same principles. Tis deeper sense o communiy may make

communiy schools unrivaled in heir poenial o provide qualiy educaion or all

children, wheher urban or rural. A commimen o he principles implied by his

broader undersanding o communiy is an opporuniy o change he discourse

and direcion o educaion in rural areas. I provides an opporuniy o conron

he issues o race, power, and injusice ha have obsruced he success o children

and amilies and hreaened he securiy o our naion as a whole.

The case for rural community schools

Full-service communiy schools have he poenial o miigae he negaive inu-ence o povery and oher ills on childrens abiliy o succeed in school and in heir

adul roles laer in lie. Communiy schools migh be he mos economically ea-

sible way o accomplish ha goal in low-resource, rural areas. Preparing children

o learn, exending learning opporuniies beyond he school day, and srenghen-

ing amilies are bu a ew areas where his migh be he case.


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The rural school challenge and community school opportunity | www.americanprogress.o

Preparing children to learn

Communiy schools address imporan predicors o adul successacademic,

social, and healh suppors. Te Naional Research Council has indicaed ha

hese suppors are also essenial or children o be ready and able o learn.22

ransporaion issues and he shor supply o qualied early childhood educaorsobsrucs access o such early suppors and educaion in many rural setings, and

low-resource rural setings in paricular. Te co-locaion and inegraion o early

childhood and elemenary educaion provided in ull-service communiy schools

is a soluion o boh o hese challenges as we have seen in rural Berie Couny,

Norh Carolina.

Berie Couny is locaed in he hisorically obacco-dependen norheasern por-

ion o Norh Carolina. Te counys 19,000 residens are spread over 700 square

miles. Beries populaion decreased by more han 2 percen beween April 2000

and July 2008 compared o a 15 percen increase in he saes populaion over hesame period. Te populaion is majoriy Arican American (60 percen) and only

64 percen o persons 25 years old or older have compleed high school. Median

income in he couny ($28,531) is only 64 percen o he saes median ($44,772),

and more han a quarer (26 percen) o he populaion lives below povery.23

Berie enrolls 73 percen o is hree- and our-year-olds in srucured, cener-

based programs a he local elemenary school despie is remoe locaion

and high povery raes. Ta success is atribuable o he school disrics

aggressive leadership o increase he number o subsidized cener-based

slos; co-locae early educaion and amily suppor programs and services

hroughou he disric; build parnerships wih higher educaion insiu-

ions o recrui, rain, and ceriy local eachers and care providers; and

leverage ederal, sae, and privae programs and income sreams. Tis kind

o inegraion and leveraging o services and resources comes easily and

naurally in a communiy school seting.

Te academic success o Beries eors is easily seen in he dramaic

increases in is pre-kindergaren o h-grade or PK-5 prociency raes

in reading and mahemaics over he pas hree years. Increases in read-ing prociency raes ranged rom approximaely 6 poins a Colerain

Elemenary School o 23 poins a Aulander Elemenary School (gure 1).

0%10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Aulander Colerain West Bertie W

Reading 200607 Reading 20

Figure 1

Percent of Bertie County

elementary school studentscoring at or above grade l

on the state end-of-grade

reading test by school

2006-2007 and 2008-2009


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Even greaer gains are eviden in mahemaics wih increases in pro-

ciency raes ranging rom 17 poins a Colerain Elemenary School o 35

poins a Wes Berie Elemenary School (gure 2).

I is unlikely given Beries deep povery and hisoric low school peror-

mance ha he disric would have achieved hese gains wihou co-loca-ing, aligning, and inegraing early childhood and elemenary programs

along wih child and amily services.

Extending learning opportunities

Communiy schools have he added bene o exending learning oppor-

uniies or children on all academic levels, rs by relieving eachers o

many o he noneaching asks hey perorm during school ime and hen

by providing high-qualiy, ou-o-school ime learning opporuniies.eachers oen ll he void le when sudens do no receive necessary suppors

and services.24 Communiy schools reduce he srain on eachers ime by bringing

ogeher and inegraing youh developmen, healh, and social services provided

by oher individuals, organizaions, and agencies.

Researchers have underscored he imporance o ou-o-school learning noing

ha wo-hirds o he achievemen gap beween higher-income and lower-income

ninh graders is atribuable o he cumulaive eec o he dierences in summer

learning experiences during he elemenary school years.25 Ye summer programs

are generally he rs o be cu rom school budges during igh budge cycles.

Te recen naional economic crunch has led many schools o eliminae summer

programs all ogeher. Even when school-based summer programs are oered,

hey end o ocus primarily on credi recovery, remediaion, or skill building or

progression o he nex grade.

Jus as imporan as academic skills are he skills and knowledge gained more

readily in school-aliaed, bu communiy-led, exended-learning programs such

as problem-solving, analyzing inormaion, generaing new ideas, eamwork, and

exposure o diverse groups o sudens. Tese programs can give breadh o su-den learning and help sudens develop he skills ha business leaders cie as nec-

essary or success in a global economy.26 Communiy schools, unlike radiional

schools ha operae on a limied schedule, end o say open longer during he

week, on weekends, and in he summer, making hem ideal setings or exended

learning opporuniies or rural children.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Aulander Colerain West Bertie Windsor

Math 200708 Math 200809

Figure 2

Percent of Bertie County

elementary school students

scoring at or above grade level

on the state end-of-grade math

test by school

2007-08 and 2008-09


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The rural school challenge and community school opportunity | www.americanprogress.o

Increasing parent and community engagement

Parenal and communiy engagemen is imporan o school success bu is oen

dicul o achieve. Researchers in a case sudy o hree noable urban school-

communiy collaboraionshe Logan Square Neighborhood Associaion in

Chicago, he Camino Nuevo Charer Academy in Los Angeles, and he QuimanSree Communiy School in Newarkound hree common elemens relaive o

successul paren engagemen.27 Te rs was an emphasis on relaionship build-

ing among parens and beween parens and educaors. Second was a ocus on

leadership developmen among parens. Tird, and perhaps mos imporan, was

an eor o bridge he gap in culure and power beween parens and educaors.

Te researchers conrased hese school-communiy collaboraions wih wha

hey called he more radiional, school-cenric, and individualisic approaches o

paren involvemen. Tey concluded ha schools alone may no be able o achieve

high levels o paren engagemen, bu ha hey can pro rom he social capialexperise o communiy-based organizaions. Te sudy samples are urban, bu

his research holds imporan implicaions or rural as well as urban places.

Communiy-based organizaions can ac as inermediaries and build bridges

beween educaors and parens and ac as caalyss or change.

Te Rural School and Communiy russ Connecing School and Communiy

iniiaive in Norheasern Norh Carolina documened similar ndings.28 Te pro-

gram ound ha parnering wih communiy developmen corporaions and high

school alumni associaions wih deep roos and credibiliy in heir rural communi-

ies proved o be sraegically imporan o reaching and engaging a diverse group

o parens and communiy members in a communiywide process o ensure he

success o all children. Communiy schools naurally provide he philosophical

and physical space or his kind o collaboraion o occur.

Strengthening families

Full-service communiy schools provide a range o amily suppor services inaddiion o services or children. Paren and amily resource ceners provide am-

ily healh services, social services, and adul educaion programs. Adul educa-

ion oerings migh range rom basic lieracy classes, someimes accompanied by


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workorce skills raining, o college degree or cericaion courses. Such oerings

have obvious amily economic benes in ha hey increase parenal and caregiver

employabiliy and wage-earning capaciy.

Tese adul services also have direc benes o children in school. A sudy o 45

low-income, rural Appalachian amilies revealed ha he pre-lieracy skills o morehighly educaed mohers children were signicanly beter han hose o mohers

who were less educaed.29

Strengthening community

Communiy schools also hold benes or communiies as a whole. Researchers

Devora Shamah and Kaherine Macavish argue ha rural schools pas con-

necions o place have been disappearing as school curricula have become more

narrowly ocused on basic academic skills.30 Tey argue ha reducing schoolprograms and undervaluing place-based knowledge gained ouside he classroom

diminishes he schools abiliy o be he primary locaion or collecive socializa-

ion and ransmission o local communiy values. Tey asser ha his loss has

consequences or boh he qualiy o educaion and opporuniies oered or

youh and overall communiy well-being. Communiy schools can reverse his

rend and recover ha loss by reconnecing young people o heir local place and

culure and o aduls around hem.

Anoher imporan bene o ull-service communiy schools in rural areas is acil-

iy access and use. School aciliies, like local governmenal agencies, are nanced

largely by local ax dollars. I seems o make good economic sense where resources

are scarce o co-locae hose services ha suppor learning and amily involvemen

raher han adding addiional srain o local economies o build and mainain

muliple aciliies ha sand idle a majoriy o he ime. Schools, amily resource

ceners, youh developmen programs, and denal and primary care healh ser-

vices need no operae in silos ha shu down during he hours ha many amilies

could mos readily access hem.

Sustaining rural schools through economies of scale

Communiy schools migh also provide an alernaive o consolidaion in places

where he cos o operaing and mainaining aciliies is a genuine concern.


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Three examples of effective rural

community schools

Te ollowing are hree examples o eecive rural communiy schools: Owsley

Elemenary School in Booneville, Kenucky; Molly Sark School in Benningon,

Vermon; and Noble High School in Norh Berwick, Maine. Tese cases pro-

vide guidance and encouragemen or low-resource, rural communiies ha

oen succumb o povery and isolaion and accep less han hey would hope

or heir children.

Each o hese communiy schools was designed in response o childrens aca-demic needs as well as aduls needs as hey aec suden achievemen. Each

school acknowledges ha schools are no jus or children and ha educaing a

child necessiaes addressing every aspec o he childs lie and environmen. Te

concep o a communiy school grealy expands radiional noions o he purpose

and uncion o schools in communiies, and he role o eachers and school lead-

ers wihin he school and communiy, as well as he communiys responsibiliy

or suden success.

Tese cases provide easible alernaives o radiional public schooling sraegies

ha have no proven eecive in rural communiies and clearly underscore he

challenge and opporuniy or communiy schools o address he myriad issues

acing rural communiies.

Owsley Elementary and Middle SchoolBooneville, Kentucky

Owsley Couny Elemenary School is locaed in Booneville, Kenucky, a sones

hrow rom where Daniel Boone and his pary camped in 1780-81. I was called

Boones Saion unil Owsley Couny was organized in 1843, a which ime i wasrenamed Booneville and became he couny sea. Boonevilles esimaed popula-

ion in 2008 was 105, down rom 111 in he 2000 census.


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Owsley Counys populaion o 4,600 in 2008 is also down 4.6 percen since he

2000 census, and hose residens are scatered over 198 square miles o he Easern

Coal Field Region. Almos he enire populaion (99.2 percen) is whie. Fewer han

hal o aduls 25 years old and older have a high school diploma. Median household

income in 2007 was $21,18952.6 percen o he naional median o $40,299.

Owsley ranks by many measures as he second poores couny in he Unied Saeswih 44.4 percen o is residens in povery. Tere are no indusries, resaurans, or

major highways in Owsley, and he school disric is he larges employer.

Owsley Couny schools serve approximaely 900 sudens in wo aciliies

Owsley Couny Elemenary School (PK-6) and Owsley Couny High School

(grades 7-12). One Chrisian school in he couny enrolls 8 o 10 sudens.

Owsley Elemenary School enrolls abou 400 sudens in Head Sar, Early Head

Sar, and grades PK-6. Te disric operaes wo aciliies, bu i is by all couns a

unied PK-12 school sysem. I is no unreasonable o hink o Owsley as a com-

muniy school sysem raher han a sysem wih wo communiy schools.

Superinenden Melinda urner nearly chuckles when asked abou school and com-

muniy connecions in Owsley Couny, saying, Te school is he communiy.32

eachers, adminisraors, and communiy members echo his senimen hroughou

he disric. Nearly every imporan even in Owsley is held in he schools, including

weddings, recepions, heare perormances, and emergency managemen.

School leadership and unity of vision

Sephen Gebbard augh in he disric 20 years beore becoming principal o

Owsley Elemenary School. He is a graduae o Owsley Couny High School, as

are many o he disrics eachers. Te sa is acuely aware o he deep povery

aecing almos all o heir sudens, bu povery is clearly no viewed as a reason

or low expecaions o eiher he sudens or he educaors. In ac, povery seems

o be a moivaor o sa commimen and resolve o see sudens succeed.

When asked how he disric atained an obvious uniy o vision or he success

o is children, Gebbard said, Folks realized ha in order o aciliae educaionand address he physical, emoional, and social needs o sudens, you had o work

wih he enire communiy. In order o beter he children, you have o beter

sociey.33 Tis realizaion can be atribued in large par o he srong, v isionary

leadership o he school principal, superinenden, and key sa.


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Academic programs and innovations

When one eners Owsley Elemenary School, here is nohing ha reecs he

deep and persisen povery ha plagues he communiy. Te exerior wall o he

Depression Era WPA-buil gymnasium orms he inerior, le wall o he warm,

inviing enranceway. A saari heme runs hroughou he building, creaing awelcoming amosphere or children and aduls alike.

School and disric leaders have leveraged scarce resources o provide a num-

ber o innovaive programs, including a Save he Children Lieracy Projec, an

Aris-in-Residence, Gied and alened Services, Reading Firs, and Everyday

Mahemaics. Superinenden urner noes, We apply or grans ha ohers

migh hink are no worh i, she said, he $500 o $1,000 grans.

Owsley Elemenary School has used a Leonore Annenberg School Fund gran

provided hrough he Rural School and Communiy rus o iniiae a schoolwideechnology program ha pus iPods, iPads, and iMacs a he disposal o all su-

dens. Te school principal, eachers, a paren, and disric leaders in a eam mee-

ing during he researchers sie visi o Owsley alked exciedly abou how hey

would use he echnology o suppor suden learning a all levels. eachers, hey

said, would record mini-lessons and lecures or sudens who needed exra ime

and reinorcemen. Books would be downloaded o give sudens access o exs

ha he schools budge could no aord. Te echnology would give sudens an

eye o he world beyond Owsley and srenghen he already srong connecions

beween he school and he communiy.

Te school also oers a wide range o services o sudens and amilies in he com-

muniy. Services are provided largely hrough he schools amily resource cener

and he Qualiy Care or Kids program. A Youh Services Cener provides similar

services a he high school. I seems no one a Owsley Elemenary School com-

plains or hinks wice abou going beyond heir eaching duies o help children

and amilies succeed.

Family resource center: Parens donaed over 2,100 hours o voluneer service

o Owsley Elemenary School during he 2008-2009 school year, mosly hroughhe amily resource cener. eachers log heir voluneer needs in he cener, and he

ull-ime cener coordinaor maches voluneers wih he lised needs. Voluneering

in he school has led a number o parens who dropped ou o school o go back


25/44


and complee heir GEDs and higher-educaion degrees. Families can come ino

he cener and ge clohing, ood, counseling, ransporaion o medical appoin-

mens, and even assisance in seting up uiliy paymen plans when needed.

Health services: Te amily resource cener is also he door hrough which chil-

dren and amilies access healh services. Te disric pays abou $5,000 per yearper school or a school nurse and does Medicaid billing or sudens who qualiy.

Te Qualiy Care or Kids program brings mobile clinics o he school or denal

screenings and minor services and or hearing and vision screenings. Te local

Lions Club assiss in purchasing eyeglasses when needed. Te disric paricipaes

in he Alliance or a Healhier Generaion addressing healh and wellness issues

among sudens. Te program was expanded recenly o include sa and commu-

niy healh workers.

Kentucky Proud: Owsleys elemenary sudens grow a pizza garden ha provides

vegeables or he school caeeria. A Farm o School gran suppors a high schoolgardening projec, as well. Produce rom he gardens are Kenucky Proud ceried

and sold in he local armers marke.

Parent and community outreach: Owsley leverages is ile I program o

srenghen is oureach o parens and he communiy. en monhly workshops a

year provide inormaion on healh, academics, scholarship opporuniies, and a

hos o oher opics. Te disrics back-o-school even has become a huge com-

muniy even, drawing atendance rom neighboring disrics. Te even includes

a healh air and healh screenings. Te Labor Day week Communiy Fair eaures

suden exhibis and is atended by more han 1,000 people, over a ourh o he

communiys 4,000 residens. Seve Gebbard, he school principal, added, Te

school sysem is he communicaion cener or he communiy.

Molly Stark Elementary SchoolBennington, Vermont

Benningon is a small rural village in souhwesern Vermon surrounded by he

Green and aconic Mounain ranges. I is a shor commue rom New York Ciy

and he Berkshires o Massachusets. Te owns muliple hisoric disrics, moun-ain ranges, and covered bridges draw housands o ouriss each year.

Te own o Benningon is locaed in Benningon Couny. Te counys esimaed

populaion o 36,434 is 97.2 percen whie. Te median household and per capia

incomes are on par wih he sae as a whole, and povery raes in he couny are


26/44


slighly lower han in he sae as a whole. Molly Sark School is one o seven ele-

menary schools in he Souhwes Vermon Supervisory Union. I is named aer

Molly Elizabeh Sark, remembered or her suppor o her husband, General

John Sark, and his roops during he American Revoluion. Her home uncioned

as a hospial, and she uncioned as a nurse o her husbands roops during a

smallpox epidemic. I is litle wonder ha he ull-service communiy school habears her name has a major emphasis on providing healh services o children and

amilies who need hem.

Like all successul communiy schools, a key rs sep or Molly Sark was plan-

ning. Te schools principal and sa began in 1995 o consider wha hey migh

do dierenly in response o he negaive changes hey had seen in suden behav-

ior, paren involvemen, and eacher morale. Tey began a series o ocus group

discussions among he schools sa, a physician, a psychologis, and a police

deecive wih whom hey had worked over ime o deermine wha hey migh do

o help children and amilies succeed. Perhaps mos imporan among he discus-sion opics was he quesion o he schools belies abou is role and responsibiliy

in he lives o amilies and wih respec o suden success.

Molly Sarks planning process spanned an enire school year o discussion and

daa collecion. Te daa were used o deermine wha programs and services

children and amilies needed, how o provide hem, and how o obain unding o

implemen and suppor hem. Various daa sources, including paren and commu-

niy surveys, school and communiy daa, and sae daa were used o ideniy he

mos urgen needs.

Mos ousanding among he schools ndings was he ac ha he disric had

he highes dropou rae in he sae and he second highes een pregnancy rae.

Medicaid-eligible sudens did no have adequae access o denal services, and su-

dens were enering kindergaren unprepared o bene rom he experience. Tose

needs were hen mapped o available resources and new program innovaions ha

would make crucial child and amily services accessible and aordable. Having col-

leced and assessed he daa, he Molly Sark eam aliaed wih he Yale Schools o

he 21s Cenury program and began o move orward wih is plan.

Programs and services

Te resul o he Molly Sark planning process is a ull-service communiy school

sraegically ocused on ensuring all sudens success. Te school began o imple-


27/44


28/44


remains a unding gap ha he school has o ll wih local resources o cover he

ime healh proessionals spend in he schools. Tis is a major challenge in he cur-

ren budge crunch and wih spiraling healh care coss.

Day care, pre-school, and kindergarten: Molly Sark operaes an on-sie licensed

day care cener ha provides beore and aer school care beginning a 7:00 a.m.and ending a 5:30 p.m. Being a licensed cener means ha eligible amilies can

receive child care subsidies and parens can pay or services on a sliding scale.

Kindergaren care is available o morning and aernoon sudens, and inegraed

preschool services are provided our days a week. Sa members devoe he h

day o home visis. Tere are also summer and school vacaion programs.

Family development: Molly Sark oers a range o oher amily-srenghening

services and programs in addiion o healh and child care. Parens can enroll in

GED classes a he school one evening a week. Child care is available during hese

sessions, as are playgrounds or parens wih inans and small children. Te ceneralso provides ransporaion and scholarships or GED esing.

A Communiy Leadership raining program oered in conjuncion wih he

Benningon Couny Child Care Associaion provides communiy members wih

educaion and experience in ciizenship and advocacy or hemselves and heir

children. Unlimied Fahering Opporuniies provides dinner and recreaional

opporuniies or ahers and heir children ages hree o six.

Oher amily srenghening programs include on-sie communiy college courses

augh by Molly Sark sa; adul and amily lieracy programs; a Family Lending

Library wih childrens books, games, and videos; and a Cooking or Lie program

developed by he Vermon Campaign o End Childhood Hunger and he Universiy

o Vermons Expanded Food and Nuriion Educaion program. Tis six-week pro-

gram encourages parens and caregivers o prepare healhy, aordable meals.

Noble High SchoolNorth Berwick, Maine

Noble High Schools guiding principle is ha, All sudens are capable o suc-cess; and all sudens will have he knowledge, skills and atiudes o become

sel-direced, lielong learners; exible workers; complex hinkers and responsible

communiy and global conribuors.


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Noble High School is par o Maines School Adminisraive Disric #60, or

MSAD 60, which is a rural disric in he souhwesern couny o York. York

Couny was esablished in 1636 and has a rich ur rading and sawmills hisory. I

is he oldes couny in Maine, and one o he oldes in he Unied Saes.

An esimaed 201,876 people lived in York Couny in 2009, up 8.1 percen romhe 2000 U.S. Census repor. Almos all (97 percen) o he counys residens are

whie, wih Hispanics making up he larges percenage (1.2 percen) o people o

color. Te counys median household income in 2008 was $54,626, which was

higher han boh he sae ($46,419) and he naional ($52,175) medians. Per

capia income was also higher in he couny han in he sae as a whole, and he

percenage o persons living below he povery level was lower han in he sae

and naion.34

York Counys economic prole is skewed by he afuence o is mos amous

own, Kennebunkpor. Kennebunkpor has become a summer haven or hewealhy, including ormer Presiden George H. W. Bush. Bu he hree owns

served by Noble High SchoolBerwick, Norh Berwick, and Lebanonhave

dieren economic proles. wo o he owns have median household incomes

ha are below he sae median. Fewer han 10 percen o residens in he couny

live below he povery level, bu 21 percen o he schools sudens were eligible

or ree and reduced meals in 2008-2009.35

Former principal Pam Fisher, speaking o he area surrounding Noble High

School, commened, A days drive around our disric would cerainly convince

anyone o he ubiquious povery. Te owns have combined populaions oaling

12,300 people, and he owns are rural bu among he ases growing areas in he

sae. Tere is no public ransporaion in any o he owns served by Noble High.

Nobles dilemma and the communitys needs

MSAD 60 serves approximaely 3,000 sudens, abou 1,070 o hem a Noble

High School in grades 9-12. Te school and he communiy were acing a

dilemma in 1995. Te school had been buil nearly 35 years earlier o accommo-dae 550 sudens, bu is enrollmen had grown o 900 and was growing by 50 o

100 sudens a year. Te campus held 14 mobile unis and could no accommo-

dae he kinds o programs he school and communiy waned or heir children.

Te hree owns ha he school served were spread over 134 miles and lacking in

basic services or boh children and aduls.


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Te need or a new school, combined wih limied resources and muual needs

across he hree owns, brough ownspeople and educaors ogeher in an inen-

sive one and a hal year planning process. Communiy members rom all hree

owns paricipaed in open orums, me wih he principal a dinners and in pri-

vae homes, and responded o surveys. A planning commitee composed o school

and communiy members idenied hree major goals o be accomplished wihhe consrucion o a new school: 1) build a sense o communiy among he hree

rural owns served by he school; 2) provide needed communiy services and

lielong learning opporuniies or aduls; and 3) creae a more personal, projec-

based inerdisciplinary learning environmen or sudens.

Design concepts

Te schools design was inuenced by he owns idenied needs, he principles

o he Coaliion o Essenial Schools, o which he school is a member, and heschool disrics guiding principles. Te ve design principles were:

Abolish anonymiy by creaing small learning environmens Make spaces o reec he concep o he eacher as coach, and he suden

as worker Make sure he building suppors a curriculum ha is collaboraively designed,

inerdisciplinary, and projec based Creae a school ha serves as a communiy cener and embraces communiy so

ha communiy uncions are inegraed wih educaional uncions Creae a school ha is exible in design, maerials, and uncion

Te resul was a new Noble High School where he needs o boh school and

communiy are being me, and he lines beween hem are nearly indisinc. Te

schools main lobby is a own square where sudens, educaors, and communiy

members mingle. Ten-Assisan Principal om Ledue noed in an inerview wih

Rural rus saer Julie Barsch ha, Te design o our aciliy welcomes com-

muniy members as well as our sudens. Parens ha may no have paricularly

enjoyed heir own high school experience have o noice a dieren eel o his

school as soon as hey walk hrough he ron doors, one ha is ar more inviinghan he one hey remember.

Par o ha welcome eel comes rom he picures and displays on he own square

ha are dedicaed o and mainained by he hree owns. Te cases display local

inormaion, news, and hisories o he owns. Srees lead rom he own square


31/44


o educaional neighborhoods conaining various learning communiies, Head

Sar, a healh cener, a 50-sea suden-run resauran, a 1,000-sea perorming ars

cener, and a caeeria, all o which are used by boh school and communiy groups.

Programs and services

Noble High School oers a rich and broad curriculum. Sudens mus earn 24.5

credi hours o graduae, including ve English, ve mah, our science, and one

ne ars credis. Te school has hree academies, each consising o heerogeneous

groups o sudens in grades 9 hrough 12. All sudens mus complee a com-

mon curriculum. Sudens mus build porolios connecing heir work o Maines

Learning Resuls and do a projec-based presenaion. Oher learning opporuni-

ies are provided hrough paricipaion on he Civil Righs eam, on he school

board, and in a wide variey o school clubs.

Comprehensive health services:A parnership wih he York Couny Hospial

provides Noble wih a nurse praciioner during school hours. Te school-based

healh cener sees abou 100 o 150 sudens a monh. Te nurse praciioner and

school nurses riage services wih he hospial and local physicians. Services were

iniially provided a no cos o sudens and heir amilies, bu increased sa,

mainenance, and uiliies coss have led o charges or some services. Suden

services include diagnosis and reamen o acue illness and injury; managemen

o chronic ailmens, including ashma and diabees; rouine hearing, visual, and

denal screenings; prescripion services; laboraory esing; spors examinaions;

and menal healh services.

Early childhood programs: Noble houses wo early childhood programs: Head Sar

and Early Childhood. Children come rom eigh surrounding owns and atend a

no cos. Te programs provide inernships and work-sudy opporuniies or high

school sudens enrolled in he schools early childhood educaion program.

Perorming arts center: Nobles 1,000-sea perorming ars cener was unded

in par hrough a reerendum passed by he hree owns. Te cener houses a

heare, an audiorium, and a small lecure hall. A group o communiy membersserves as he ceners advisory board. Te cener is available or many uncions

a no cos o he communiy, bu renal and admissions ees have made i nan-

cially sel-susaining.


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Culinary arts: Noble houses he Sanord Vocaional Culinary Ars Program,

which shares space wih he school kichen. Sudens in he wo-year program

operae a 50-person resauran ha is open during school hours and accessible

rom he own square. Te resauran, like he own square, is a gahering place or

sudens, eachers, and communiy members.

Community service: Nobles sudens mus complee 60 hours o communiy

service. Service opporuniies are posed on he schools websie. Te communiy

service program reecs he schools commimen o is sudens o heighen

heir sense o global responsibiliy, heir sensiiviy o social problems, and a

sense o personal ulllmen hrough heir commimen and caring or ohers.36

Adult education: Te Adul Coninuing Educaion Cener oers on-sie and

online classes and eleconerences or sudens and communiy members. Nobles

sudens provide ull-day child care or parens enrolled in he program.


33/44

Common elements across community schools | www.americanprogress.o

Common elements across community schools

Te Alliance or Excellen Educaion liss 10

key elemens ha every rural high school needs

o have in place o ensure is sudens success.37

Tese key elemens closely align wih he Rural

School and Communiy russ Principles and

Sandards or Good High Schools and are jus

as essenial or elemenary schools as hey are

or high schools. Tese elemens and principlesare all eviden o varying degrees in each o he

communiy school models presened above.

Tese elemens and principles become more

han buzz words and phrases when overlaid

by he earlier discussion o communiy. Tey

indeed become wha guides and rames com-

muniy eors o ensure he success o heir

children. As Owsley s superinenden Melinda

urner would pu i, Is really abou knowing

our kids, ideniying heir needs, and arranging

he services hey need. Tas wha ull-service

communiy schools do.

Alliance for Education key elements

1. College and work-ready curriculum or all children

2. Personal attention or all students

3. Extra help or those who need it

4. Bringing the real world to the classroom

5. Family and community involvement

6. A sae learning environment

7. Skilled teachers

8. Strong leaders

9. Necessary resources

10. User-riendly inormation or parents and the community

Rural Trust principles and standards for good high

schools38

1. Rigorous, authentic, and expansive content and strategies that engage

student in a personalized learning environment

2. Multileveled school and community connections and collaboration to m

school and community good places to live, work, learn, and play

3. Modeling o democratic values

4. Policies, calendars, and resources arranged to maximize community invo

5. Adequate, competent, and caring staf aligned to meet stated goals

6. Clean, sae, orderly, and well-equipped acilities that support rigorous a

goals and co-curricular activities

7. Competent, knowledgeable, and supportive leadership


34/44


Challenges and solutions

to implementing rural

community schools

Co-locaion and inegraion o services is an obvious bene in communiy

schools, bu here are many barriers ha make i mos oen he excepion raher

han he rule in rural America. Some o he barriers are he resul o local policy

and pracice; ohers sem rom sae and ederal policy. Bu communiies can

overcome hese barriers and build suppor or eliminaing hem ino policy

and pracice a all levels. Te reauhorizaion o he Elemenary and Secondary

Educaion Ac, he ederal Full-Service Communiy Schools Program, he School

Improvemen Gran Program, and oher compeiive grans programs all presensuch opporuniies a he ederal level.

Te ollowing are some o he barriers o implemening ull-service communiy

schools in rural communiies and some recommendaions or acions ha local,

sae, and ederal governmen can ake o overcome hem.

Challenge: Attracting highly effective teachers

Rural schools, like all oher schools, wan highly eecive eachers in every class-

room. Te inabiliy o atrac and reain eachers oen leaves rural classrooms wih

eachers who are no equipped o each he subjecs hey are assigned, who are no

prepared o each and live in rural setings, or who are or oher reasons ineecive

in he rural classroom.

Communiy schools can help o improve eaching qualiy by bringing communiy-

based experise and indigenous knowledge ino he eaching and learning experi-

ence. Permiting disrics o implemen communiy educaor cericaion programs

will allow or he placemen o highly skilled and knowledgeable communiymembers in classrooms under he supervision o highly qualied-highly eecive

eachers o record. Tis ype o program can aciliae he movemen o paren and

communiy voluneers ino he eaching proession in undersaed areas.


35/44


36/44


Challenge: Making better use of facilities

A majoriy o school aciliies in he Unied Saes sand idle or many hours each

week. Many are empy and unused or he enire summer and oher school breaks.

Local governmen eniies a he same ime sruggle o build and mainain acili-

ies o house he services ha children and amilies need o address hose ou-o-school acors ha aec learning.

Te noion ha school aciliies belong o he school raher han o he commu-

niy pus an unnecessary srain on local economies o mainain relaed services in

individual silos. Join aciliy use is urher complicaed by he exisence o cae-

gorical unding sources ha oen carry eligibiliy crieria, consrucion sandards,

or oher regulaory requiremens ha are inconsisen or in conic wih each

oher. Sae laws in some insances prohibi he use o sae unds o consruc

regular public schools on land ha is no owned by he school disric.

Local governmens should consider co-locaing schools and services or children

beore deciding o build new srucures or oherwise providing separae housing

or schools and service agencies. Tis can be especially benecial as rural commu-

niies ry o atrac young healh care providers who migh wish o se up a privae

pracice bu are unable o aord he relaed coss.

Faciliy planning or any publicly unded consrucion should be preceded by a

comprehensive needs assessmen ha includes all sakeholder groupssimilar

o sraegic planning process seen in he Noble High School model. Saes should

harmonize caegorical consrucion sandards when doing so does no compro-

mise he public purpose served by he sandards.

Challenge: Negotiating agreements and reducing risks among partners

Te duraion o commimen and exi sraegies or join aciliy users may vary

among parners. No one wans o be le carrying he nancial weigh o he join-

use aciliy i one or more o he parners are less sable or subjec o involunary

relocaion or consolidaion o oher sies. Tis challenge becomes mos imporanwhen disrics are considering new school consrucion ha incorporaes unique

spaces or child and amily services.


37/44


38/44


Challenge: Bolstering federal funding for community schools

Te Full Service Communiy Schools Gran Program does no carry enough

weigh o leverage signican sae and local policy changes a is curren appro-

priaion level o $10 million in scal year 2010. I also does no oer enough

unding per applican o address some o he idenied issues. Because hese arecompeiive grans aimed a he local disric raher han he sae level, smaller

disrics wih ewer human resources and capaciy likely will no are well in his

and similar compeiions.

Te ederal governmen should hereore increase unding or he Full Service

Communiy Schools Program, and he Deparmen o Educaion should give

echnical assisance o rural disrics hrough inermediary groups and organiza-

ions o help level he eld in his and oher compeiive gran compeiions.


39/44

Conclusion | www.americanprogress.o

Conclusion

Rural schools enroll more han 10 million o our naions children. Te rural places

where hese children live are economically, culurally, and religiously diverse, as

are he sudens hemselves. Tis diversiy in place and people makes i unlikely

ha a single communiy school model will work in all rural setings. Tis is, per-

haps, he mos imporan lesson o be drawn rom he hree cases presened here.

Te word communiy in ull-service communiy schools implies more han hose

services or aciviies ha normally happen ouside o he school seting. I implies auniqueness abou place and he people who live here. Each place has a unique his-

ory, culure, economy, and ecology. Each has a unique se o relaionships, power

srucures, challenges, and opporuniies. We mus hereore plan each communiy

school aking ino accoun is individual surroundings and circumsances.

Successul communiy schools do no come abou merely by co-locaing services.

Planning a successul communiy school is an inensive process ha involves

muliple sakeholders, as was he case wih he consrucion o a new Noble High

School. Planning is jus as essenial and inensive when new consrucion is no in

he picure, as was he case wih Molly Sark and Owsley elemenary schools.

ransormaional change in he delivery o public educaion requires no jus a

narrow ocus on educaion, bu also a keen ocus, inenionaliy, and broad-based

collaboraion around addressing he needs o children and amilies. I requires

broad-based consensus building and merging o insiuional and organizaional

culures. An inermediary ha is no vesed in local poliics is in many cases bes

suied o aciliae his kind o planning. Funding or sraegic communiy school

planning is a worhwhile invesmen o public dollars.

Te resul o planning ha akes ino accoun he uniqueness o place and people

is ha each communiy school oers curricular, co-curricular, and amily and

communiy services ha are specic o he needs o he communiy i serves.

Tey reec boh wha he sae requires and wha local people wan or heir


40/44


41/44

Endnotes | www.americanprogress.o

Endnotes

1 Devora Shamah and Katherine A. MacTavish, Making Room or Place-Based Knowledge in Rural Classrooms, Rural Educator30 (2) (2009): 1-4.

2 Jerry Johnson and Marty Strange, Why Rural Matters: 2009 (Arling-ton: The Rural School and Community Trust, 2009).

3 Ibid.

4 Jerry Johnson, Marty Strange, and Karen Madden, The Rural DropoutProblem: An Invisible Achievement Gap (Arlington: The Rural Schooland Community Trust, 2010).

5 Robert Bickel and Craig Howley, The Inuence o Scale onSchool Perormance available at http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/413/536 (last accessed September 2010).

6 Johnson and Strange, Why Rural Matters: 2009.

7 Status o Education in Rural America, available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/ruraled/chapter2_5.asp (last accessed July 2010).

8 Johnson, Strange, and Madden, The Rural Dropout Problem.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.

11 Johnson and Strange, Why Rural Matters: 2009.

12 D.T. Williams and Jereann Johnson, Rural School Leadership in theDeep South: The Double-Edged Legacy o School Desegregation(Arlington: The Rural School and Community Trust, 2002).

13 Algebra Project, Inc.,A Campaign or Quality Education As A CivilRight, (2005), Memorandum to Participants in the First AlgebraProject Network Conerence on Quality Education Held at Howard

University in Washington, D.C.

14 Lorna Jimerson, The Competitive Disadvantage: Teacher Compensa-tion in Rural America (Arlington: The Rural School and Community

Trust, 2003).

15 Ibid.

16 Southwest Rural Health Research Center, Rural Healthy People 2010Project (2010), available at http://srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/Volume1.pd.

17 Sarah Dewees, Improving Rural School Facilities or Teaching andLearning (Charleston: ERIC Clearinghouse on R ural Education andSmall Schools, 1999).

18 Ibid; J. D. Stern, The Condition o Education in Rural Schools (Wash-ington: U.S. Government Printing Oce, 1994).

19 Peter Block, Community(San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers,

Inc., 2009).

20 Federal Register, Feb. 8, 2010, p. 6188.

21 Coalition or Community Schools, What is a Community School?available at http://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspx. (last accessed September 2010)

22 Committee on Community Level Programs or Youth, CommunityPrograms to Promote Youth Development (Washington: NationalResearch Council, Institute o Medicine, and National AcademyPress, 2002).

23 North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, North CarolinaRural Data Bank available at http://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/index.html.

24 Marty Blank, A Coordinated Eort: Well-conducted PartnershipsMeet Students Academic, Health, and Social Service Needs, Educa-tion Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review 75 (3)(2010): 42-47.

25 K. Alexander, D. Entwisle, and L. Olson, Lasting Consequences othe Summer Learning Gap,American Sociological Review72 (2)(2007):167-180.

26 Murnane, R. J., and Levy, F. Teaching the New Basic Skills. Principles orEducating Children to Thrive in a Changing Economy. (New York: Free

Press, 1996); Partnership or 21st Century S kills. Learning or the 21stCentury: A Report and Mile Guide or 21st Century Skills available athttp://www.p21.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pd.(last accessed September 2010).

27 Mark R. Warren and others, Beyond the Bake Sale: A Community-Based Relational Approach to Parent Engagement in Schools,Teach-ers College Record111 (9) (2009): 2209-2254.

28 D. Williams and Jereann King Johnson, Connecting School and Com-munity: A Report to the Kellogg Foundation (2006).

29 Stephanie M. Curenton and Laura M. Justice, Childrens Pre-literacyskills: Inuence o Mothers Education and Belies about Shared Read-ing Interventions, Early Education and Development(19) (2) (2008):261283.

30 Shamah and MacTavish, Making Room or Place-Based Knowledge inRural Classrooms.

31 Joe Bard, Clark E. Gardener, and Regi L.Wieland, Rural School DistrictConsolidation, Empirical Research 4 (2) (2007).

32 Melinda Turner, Superintendent o Schools in Owsley County,Kentucky interview with author, in Owsley County by teleconer-ence rom Henderson, NC, August 16, 2010 and site visit by author inDecember, 2009.

33 Stephen Gebbard, interview with author, in Owsley County byteleconerence rom Henderson, NC, August 16, 2010, and site visit byauthor in December 2009.

34 U.S. Census Bureau, State and county quick acts, (2010), Available athttp://quickacts.census.gov/qd/states/23/23031.html.

35 IES Center or Education Statistics, Noble High School avail-able at http://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecifcSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512 (last accessed

September 2010).

36 Noble High School website, available at http://nhs.sad60.k12.me.us/~communityservice/commservice.htm.

37 Alliance or Excellent Education, 10 Elements Every High SchoolShould Have in Place (2009), available at http://www.all4ed.org/fles/RuralElementsBrochure.pd.

38 The Rural School and Community Trust, Good Rural High Schools:Principles and Standards (2004), available at http://www.ruraledu.org/articles.php?=2075.
http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/413/536http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/413/536http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/ruraled/chapter2_5.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/ruraled/chapter2_5.asphttp://srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/Volume1.pdfhttp://srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/Volume1.pdfhttp://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspxhttp://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspxhttp://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/index.htmlhttp://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/index.htmlhttp://www.p21.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdfhttp://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/23/23031.htmlhttp://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://nhs.sad60.k12.me.us/~communityservice/commservice.htmhttp://nhs.sad60.k12.me.us/~communityservice/commservice.htmhttp://www.all4ed.org/files/RuralElementsBrochure.pdfhttp://www.all4ed.org/files/RuralElementsBrochure.pdfhttp://www.ruraledu.org/articles.php?=2075http://www.ruraledu.org/articles.php?=2075http://www.ruraledu.org/articles.php?=2075http://www.ruraledu.org/articles.php?=2075http://www.all4ed.org/files/RuralElementsBrochure.pdfhttp://www.all4ed.org/files/RuralElementsBrochure.pdfhttp://nhs.sad60.k12.me.us/~communityservice/commservice.htmhttp://nhs.sad60.k12.me.us/~communityservice/commservice.htmhttp://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://www.nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Noble&State=23&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=231470000512http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/23/23031.htmlhttp://www.p21.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdfhttp://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/index.htmlhttp://www.ncruralcenter.org/databank/index.htmlhttp://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspxhttp://www.communityschools.org/aboutschools/what_is_a_community_school.aspxhttp://srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/Volume1.pdfhttp://srph.tamhsc.edu/centers/rhp2010/Volume1.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/ruraled/chapter2_5.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/ruraled/chapter2_5.asphttp://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/413/536http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/413/536


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About the author

Doris Terry Williams is Execuive Direcor o he Rural School and Communiy

rus and Direcor o he russ Capaciy Building Program. She leads he

organizaions eors a rural high school reorm, is Rural eacher Developmen

Cener, and is Place-Based Learning, Educaion Renewal Zones, Fund oreachers, and Connecing School and Communiy iniiaives.

Previously Assisan Dean and Associae Proessor a Norh Carolina Cenral

Universiys School o Educaion and Direcor o Universiy-School Parnerships,

she led he insiuions eacher educaion program reorm ha included esablishing

hree proessional developmen schools and a proessional developmen nework

o rural and urban school disrics, expanding early clinical experiences and insiu-

ing year-long inernships or pre-service eachers, and developing a graduae level

eachers-as-leaders rac or school-based menors and clinical supervisors.

Williams co-ounded and direced he Norh Carolina Cener or he Sudy o

Black Hisory and was a ounder o a 100,000 wat public radio saion, WVSP FM.

She has served as a consulan or he numerous sae, naional, and inernaional

educaional and communiy developmen organizaions. She served 12 years on

he Warren Couny, NC, Board o Educaion, ve as chairperson, and currenly

serves on several organizaional boards. She holds Ed.D. and M.Ed. degrees rom

Norh Carolina Sae Universiy and an AB degree rom Duke Universiy.

Acknowledgements

Te Cener or American Progress hanks JP Morgan or heir suppor

o his publicaion.


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Endnotes | www.americanprogress.o


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The Center or American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute

dedicated to promoting a strong, just and ree America that ensures opportunity

or all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to

these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies relect these values.

We work to ind progressive and pragmatic solutions to signiicant domestic and

international problems and develop policy proposals that oster a government that

is o the people, by the people, and or the people.

The Rural Solution

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