An Open Letter to John Edwards

Dear Senator Edwards,

Your Rural Recovery Act proposal is an important first step toward addressing the issues facing rural Americans. The only issue it fails to address is that federal agencies tend to operate in their own silos rather than collaborating with other agencies working on related issues.

For instance, there is ample evidence that the U.S. Department of Education lacks an understanding of rural schools and communities. As a result, rural schools have been forced to adopt educational reforms that were designed for urban schools, while the needs of rural communities have gone largely unnoticed.

A solution to the problem is to use an interagency approach that brings together the Departments of Education, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services, and others to develop policy initiatives that improve outcomes for students and communities. Bringing these agencies together to address the needs of rural Americans will be more successful than the piecemeal laundry lists proposed by others.

Michael