2004 Rural Education Awards

I'm starting this blog off with a look back at last year with my 2004 Rural Education Awards. It's never too late to recognize outstanding achievement.

BEST RURAL EDUCATION REPORT: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
In September, the Government Accountability Office issued a report that found the U.S. Department of Education had not done enough to help small rural school districts address the unique challenges they face in improving student achievement. The Department responded with a statement that the GAO probably didn’t know about all the things they had done for rural schools. For example, Deputy Secretary Eugene W. Hickok noted that the department's Teacher-to-Teacher initiative was planning four Saturday workshops, two of which would be held in rural areas. According to the department's website those four sites were Bentonville, Arkansas; Wheeling, West Virginia; Redmond, Washington; and Madison, Wisconsin. Which are the two rural sites? Using the National Center for Education Statistics' Public School District Locator we learn that none are. I think I see the problem. The department thinks that any community smaller than a central city is rural. This explains some things. {See the Best New Rural Education Research Center Award for a related item.)

BEST MEDIUM REASSIGNMENT: JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN RURAL EDUCATION
Hats off to Ted Coladarci and Amy Cates for making the transition of the "Journal of Research in Rural Education" from a print to online journal smooth and seemingly flawless. The pipeline for getting rural education research published is now bigger and more easily accessible to those in the field. Articles are free (my favorite kind!) and past issues are available free of charge online as pdf files. Subscribers to the JRRE-L newsletter (also free!) receive email notices when new articles go online. After Nancy Jenning's success as JRRE Book Review Editor, I tried to get Ted to name me as sports editor but he wouldn't go for it. Nancy, on the other hand, thought it was a wonderful idea. Thanks Nancy!

BEST NEW RURAL EDUCATION RESEARCH CENTER:
On September 10, the Institute of Education Sciences awarded a five-year grant to establish the National Research Center on Rural Education Support, based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. According to the new center's director Thomas W. Farmer, the center will examine students’ academic, behavioral, and social development and find ways to help educators teach rural students more effectively. Some were surprised by the selection because Mr. Farmer was not known among rural education scholars. I didn't find it surprising given the U.S. Department of Education's past record with rural education. It is surprising, however, that the Government Accountability Office (see the Best Rural Education Report Award) had to recommend to the department that the new center should "address the unique challenges small rural districts face." In spite of the Department of Education's assurances, the GAO could find "no indication that the center would direct any research to specifically focus on challenges and strategies applicable to small, isolated rural districts." On second thought, perhaps it's not that surprising.

BEST USE OF RURAL EDUCATION IN A CAMPAIGN: BUSH CHENEY
Who else could I pick? They won thanks in part to rural voters many of whom must be satisfied with No Child Left Behind. The Kerry Edwards campaign came in a close second for this award thanks to John Edwards’ support of rural schools and the Senate Rural School Caucus. The tipping point was the Bush Administration’s efforts on behalf of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP), which the campaign highlighted on its website. Some might complain that the president’s budgets have either under funded the program or zeroed it out completely and so he shouldn't get credit for it. To those I say, what are you going to believe, President Bush's budget requests or a campaign website?

Here's to a great 2005! Keep those emails coming.