Rural and Small Schools--In The News
RURAL SCHOOLS
Rural Schools Have Fewer External Supports Than Other Schools. Rural schools are much less likely than urban and suburban schools to have a variety of school partnerships that provide support, funding, and volunteers. A survey of school-community partnerships by DeHavilland Associates (in collaboration with the National School Foundation Association) found that rural schools depend more heavily on the support of local booster clubs than urban or suburban schools, but are much less likely to receive support from business coalitions, non-profits, and post-secondary institutions. Read the survey report, Community/School Partnerships: A National Survey, and the Rural Matters commentary about it.
Online Teacher Training. The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded a $3 million grant to Western Governors University (WGU) to develop a model for web-based rural teacher education and to provide scholarships up to $7,500 for qualified students to become math and science teachers in rural schools. The program was designed, in part, to assist rural educators who live a long way from a traditional college to obtain full certification.
WGU was founded four years ago by governors of 19 western states to offer online programs. It currently provides teacher certification programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels as well as programs for people with a degree who want to become certified.
Forest County Payments End. More than 4,400 rural school districts received their last payments in December from the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. That Act provides funding to counties in which federal forest lands—which are tax-exempt and do not generate revenue—are located. The six-year bill was not renewed in the last legislative session. Oregon has received the most funding through the Act—more than half of its land is federal forest, and Oregon lawmakers are leading the efforts to renew the law. They have also tacked a one-year extension on to other bills. The Bush Administration has proposed funding the program through a sell-off of selected federal forest land. You can read about it in Education Week.
6th Graders Fare Better in Elementary School. A new study finds that 6th graders do better academically and socially when they attend elementary schools (K-6) rather than middle schools (6-8). The 6th graders in middle schools were more than twice as likely to be disciplined as similar 6th graders in elementary schools; and drug-related disciplinary incidents were nearly four times greater among the middle school group. These differences persisted through the 9th grade.
The report, “Should Sixth Grade Be in Elementary or Middle School? An Analysis of Grade Configuration and Student Behavior” co-authored by researchers at Duke University and the University of California Berkeley, is based on data from almost 45,000 6th graders in North Carolina. The researchers did not look at students in K-8 or K-12 schools (North Carolina has very few such schools). The researchers did not explain the differences in outcomes, but they suggested that the exposure to older students has a negative effect on 6th graders.
While many rural communities have lost community schools (or lost grades from their community schools) as a result of state pressure to create regionalized middle schools, many rural schools are configured as K-8 or K-12 schools with 6th graders in classroom contexts that resemble elementary schools. A news release summarizes findings and links to the full report.
URBAN SMALL SCHOOLS
Many of New York City’s new small public schools have been charged with serving a smaller proportion of students with disabilities and English Language Learners than other schools. In response, the New York City Department of Education has announced that 20 schools that will open this fall will receive extra funding to serve those students. Critics had charged that the success of the schools could not be judged if they were not serving as many students with challenging learning needs.
In Chicago, many large schools have been converted into smaller “academies” often with a career or thematic focus. The smaller schools have higher attendance and graduation rates, but achievement levels have not risen dramatically. Some students also find the “themed” schools don’t hold their interest as expected and some schools are less diverse than their school districts.
TEACHERS
Another Advocate for Performance-Pay. Performance pay for teachers has found yet another advocate. The Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project is recommending performance pay as a way to improve education and get students ready for the global economy. The Hamilton Project is an economic policy initiative of the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. The paper, “An Education Strategy to Promote Opportunity, Prosperity, and Growth,” also recommends stronger Head Start programs and streamlining the college financial aid process as ways to better prepare a 21st century workforce.
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
2007 Budget for NCLB. Congress approved a spending bill for the U.S. Department of Education that will provide a 1.7% increase over fiscal year 2006 and a 5.7% increase over President Bush’s request. The spending bill had been extended in the last congressional session until February, and the new congress opted to continue funding for most programs at 2006 levels. However, the measure includes a 1% increase ($125 million) for Title I grants to districts—to help high schools offer additional assessments under NCLB. It also includes $125 million for a School Improvement Fund that had been authorized by never funded. And, it increases by $200 million grants to states to for education students in special education. The Teacher Incentive Fund, which received $99 million in 2006 for grants to districts to develop teacher performance-pay programs, was funded at $200,000 in 2007. You can read about it in Education Week.