Charateristics of Rural School Districts

A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics introduces data from the fifth administration of the School and Staffing Survey (SASS). It is the most extensive sample survey of teachers and administrators in the U.S. Characteristics of Schools, Districts, Teachers, Principals, and School Libraries in the United States: 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey has 47 data tables, all of which break out statistics on rural/small town districts. The report includes a relatively small number of findings regarding rural/small town districts that are are included below. The most interesting finding is that a higher percent of rural/small town principals have teaching responsibilities in comparison to their non-rural counterparts.

Extended-day Programs

Forty-seven percent of public schools reported having extended-day programs providing instruction beyond the normal school day for students who needed academic assistance. Public schools located in central city locations were more likely to have this program (58 percent) than schools located in urban fringe/large towns (42 percent) or rural/small towns (45 percent). p. 3

Temporary Buildings

Thirty-two percent of public schools reported having one or more temporary buildings, and 9 percent of public schools reported an enrollment that exceeded the capacity of their permanent and temporary buildings. Public schools in rural areas were less likely to have temporary buildings (21 percent) than schools in urban fringe/large towns (34 percent) or central city locations (38 percent). The percentage of schools having temporary buildings in urban fringe/large towns was measurably different from the percentage of schools in central city locations. p.4

Teacher Experience

Eighteen percent of public school teachers had 3 or fewer years of full-time teaching experience, and 82 percent reported having 4 or more years of full-time teaching experience. Among public schools, there was a smaller percentage of teachers with 3 or fewer years of full-time teaching experience in rural/small town communities (15 percent) than the percentage of teachers with 3 or fewer years experience teaching in central cities (20 percent). There was no measurable difference between the percentage of teachers with 3 or fewer years experience teaching in urban fringe/large towns (18 percent) compared to central city or rural/small town communities. p.4

Principals with Teaching Duties

Twenty-eight percent of public school principals were currently teaching in addition to serving as principal. Principals of public schools located in rural/small town locations were more likely to be teaching in addition to serving as principal (38 percent), compared to principals of public schools in urban fringe/large town (22 percent) or central city locations (16 percent). There was no measurable difference in the percentage of principals who were teaching in public schools in urban fringe/large towns as compared to principals of public schools in central city locations. p.5