2000 Population Distribution in the United States

The U. S. Census Bureau's "Nighttime Map" illustrates how the east and midwest are more densely populated than the west. It provides insight into why there are different perceptions about what is rural among regions. From the Census Bureau:

The 2000 version of the Population Distribution in the United States map reflects population data from the 2000 Decennial Census. The U.S. land area is shown in black against a midnight blue background in which the population locations are shown as if lights were visible during the night sky. White dots coalesce to form the urban population concentrations. On the wall-sized version of the map, each white "dot" represents 1,000 people. On the page-sized version of the map, each white "dot" represents 7,500 people.

Click on the map to enlarge it.

Jeff Arnold on Football

With the high school football season winding down, a quote for my football coach friends:

There's no crying in football! There's only quietly sobbing into your pillow late at night when no one can hear you.
Jeff Arnold, 2008

National Rural Teacher of the Year Award

From John Hill, Executive Director of the National Rural Education Association:

Lois Gray, New Harmony School in New Harmony, Indiana, was presented with the National Rural Teacher of the Year award at the 100th NREA Convention in San Antonio. Fox 7 in Evansville, Indiana, featured Lois in one of their telecast. To view the segment click here. (The segment begins with a 30 second commercial).

This Was a Big Election

An excellent point from Obama pollster Joel Benenson on election day as reported in Time:

This was not a small election. This was a big election. But McCain talked about earmarks instead of about changing the tax code. When the issue was energy independence, his focal point was drilling instead of getting us off this addiction to oil.

Barack Obama spoke to a kind of change that resonated with Americans. They have grown weary not just of the type of politics we've seen but also of how politics has gotten in the way of solving real problems. In this campaign, voters have always known the stakes were very high.

The stakes are large for rural schools and communities. Are we going to continue down the path of suburbanizing rural schools or are we going to solve the real problems facing rural schools. It will take a clear vision of what rural schools can be, a comprehensive plan for achieving that vision, and a organized effort to achieve it. Anything is possible in America.

Webconference on the Changing Context of Rural Schools

On November 19, 2008 Edvantia will he hosting a webconference titled Cultivating Success: The Changing Context of Rural Education. The webconference runs from 2 pm - 3 pm est. I believe it's free but you do have to register to participate. From the description it looks to be an excellent program:

Rural schools and districts are changing. Student enrollment in small rural communities increased by 15% between 2003 and 2005, and rural students now make up 20% of the total student population. The percentage of rural minority students has grown dramatically, such that nearly half of all English language learners (ELL) live in rural places. But despite the advantages rural schools offer—meaningful family engagement, community support, and close-knit relationships—they continue to struggle with resource constraints, recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers, and implementation of robust ELL programs. Tune in to “Cultivating Success: The Changing Context of Rural Education,” the first in a series of three webinars sponsored by the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC) that explore how states and districts can help rural schools meet their changing needs. Our presenters will be Marjorie Rosenberg, Senior Research Associate for CEEE, Maria Helena Malagon, Senior Research Associate for CEEE, and Donna Bell, Senior Program Manager for NCFL. This event is hosted by Caitlin Howley, Associate Director, ARCC at Edvantia and Donna Carr, No Child Left Behind/Title I Specialist, ARCC at Edvantia.

What Happened to Rural at NWREL?

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory used to be a leader in rural education research. A visit to their website shows that they've given up their rural emphasis. Searching the Products Catalog for "rural" produces zero publications. The message that comes up reads:

Sorry, I didn't find any matches for "rural" in the title, year, author, or description of products in our online catalog.

A search of the full NWREL website for "rural" produces 703 hits. The most recent year for a publication is 2005.

What is NWREL doing with the millions of dollars it is supposed to be allocated over the past 3 years researching issues affecting rural schools? Do any rural educators or policy makers in the region care that NWREL doesn't have a rural focus anymore? It is truly a sad thing to see.

Obama's Success Among Rural Voters

Barack Obama may not have won the rural vote in this year's election, but he was able to close the gap significantly. In 2004, John Kerry lost the rural counties in battleground states by 15 percentage points. Obama was able to narrow that deficit to seven. Nationally, John McCain won 56.2% of the rural vote compared to Obama's 43%. The proportions reversed in urban areas with Obama receiving 57% of the vote and McCain 42.5%.

I'm not sure why McCain was more popular among rural voters. Anyone have any ideas about that?

See the full report from the Daily Yonder here.

I Was Wrong

Even though there are some elections still to be decided, it's clear that I was wrong about Tuesday's election. I predicted Barack Obama would receive 378 electoral votes. Right now he's only got 364. If he picks up Missouri's still undecided 11 electoral votes, he'll only have 375.

I also predicted that Democrats would pick up 29 House seats and they only picked up 17. Democrats will not achieve the 60 seat threshold needed for a filibuster proof Senate, gaining only 6 seats. Even if Al Franken pulls out a come from behind victory in the Minnesota Senate recount, I still won't get to 60.

No one can say I don't admit when I'm wrong.

Which Way will Rural America Go?

Tomorrow's election is going to be tough for my Republican friends. I agree with George Will — Barack Obama will receive 378 electoral votes. I also think Democrats will pick up 29 House seats and gain enough Senate seats for a filibuster proof Senate.

Reflecting the diversity and independent mindedness of rural Americans, the polls show conflicting perspectives. An Associated Press-GfK poll conducted in October found that McCain had an 18 point lead over Obama among rural voters. On the other hand, a nonpartisan poll of rural voters in 13 swing states from October 1-21 found a statistical dead heat between McCain and Obama. Commissioned by the Center for Rural Strategies on behalf of the National Rural Assembly, the poll found Obama leading McCain 46 to 45 percent, which is within the poll's 3.38 percent margin of error.

To my Democrat friends, be gracious in victory.

Presidential Election Profile: Missouri

From the Almanac of American Politics via the New York Times:

Missouri’s peculiar balance of North and South, urban and rural, has helped to make it a presidential bellwether and explains its one deviation in the 20th century, in 1956 when it voted for Adlai Stevenson. He capitalized on farmer discontent and his lukewarmness on civil rights helped him carry traditional Southern Democrats. In the 1990s Missouri saw the two countervailing national trends—toward Democrats in major metropolitan areas, toward Republicans in rural areas—but in different proportions: the rural areas count for more here. In addition to registering voters in urban areas, Barack Obama also is hoping to find support in rural stretches to cut into Republican strongholds.

No Satisfactory Way of Measuring Rural

From In the National Interest: Defining Rural and Urban Correctly in Research and Public Policy by Andrew W. Isserman, which appeared in the October 2005 issue of International Regional Science Review:

We presently have no satisfactory way to measure rural for the study of rural economic or the assessment of rural conditions. Key economic and demographic data are not available for urban and rural areas, and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan commingle urban and rural, leaving us unable to separate them. Yet getting rural right is in the national interest. When we get rural wrong, we reach incorrect research conclusions and fail to reach the people, places, and businesses our governmental programs are meant to serve. [emphasis mine]

8th Annual Rural Education Working Group Meeting

The Rural School and Community Trust will convene its 8th annual meeting of the national Rural Education Working Group on April 19-21 at Kanuga Conference Center, near Hendersonville, North Carolina.

The gathering supports the work of rural citizens as they seek to strengthen their schools and communities by improving educational practice, learning about policy, conducting action research, organizing, and supporting each other. Visit the Trust's website for more information.

Rural Schools: Here to Stay

From Leadership for Rural Schools by E. Robert Stephens & Walter G. Turner, published in 1988 by the American Association of School Administrators:

Many states will always have large numbers of rural small school districts. The creation of larger schools districts that make good educational sense should and will receive pubic support, but further use of this policy will be limited. First, the massive school reogranization that touched virtually every state in the immediate post-World War II period rested on a research base that is now widely acknowledged to be flawed. Second, rural interests in many states are better organized today than in the past to resist indiscriminate use of mandated school district consolidation. Third, continued consolidation of districts will be difficult and not cost-efficient in many areas because of the distances involved. And last, alternative ways to provide a good education in rural areas, such as telecommunications, lessen the need for reorganization.

I'm not sure what to think about the statement that the use of consolidation will be limited since the Rural School & Community Trust is holding a School Consolidation webinar on October 22.

QZAB Extension Passes

From the Organizations Concerned About Rural Education:

As part of the rescue package enacted to meet the financial crisis, the U.S. House and Senate approved the so-called “tax extenders” bill that included a two-year, $800 million extension of the Qualified Zone Academy Bond (QZAB) program. QZABs allow local districts to finance school improvments or renovations at no interest cost by giving bond buyers federal tax credits in lieu of interest. The U.S. Treasury allocates the bonds to the states based on their low-income school population and state education agencies assign the bonding authority to their local school districts. The bill also removes an arbitrage modification of the original Act which has negatively affected the ability of school districts to use the bonds.

John Hill on the NREA Listserv Problems

This message came in this morning from John Hill, NREA Executive Director about the problems with the NREA Listserv:

The nrea-l list was captured by a spammer. Many of the reply emails you are receiving are not coming from this office. It is critical that you do not reply to those emails for the spamming to come to an end. I am sorry this has happened and I am more frustrated than you. Your help in not replying will help end this mess.

I appreciate John's efforts in correcting the problem. These things happen to the best of us.

Thanks to Kristi Smalley & Emily Welch Boles

Everybody on the NREA listserv owes a huge thanks to Kristi Smalley and Emily Welch Boles for posting directions on how to unsubscribe from a listserv. Before they posted the directions in separate emails there we so many posts to unsubscribe that I lost count. What's truly disappointing about the situation is that some people became so upset that sent threatening emails to the entire list. Fortunately Kristi and Emily provided some calm directions to those who are incapable of figuring out how to unsubscribe to a listserv.

New York State Center for Rural Schools

In September, New York Governor David Paterson signed a law creating the New York State Center for Rural Schools. From the Education Commission of the States:

Establishes the New York State Center for Rural Schools to operate the state rural education program. Eliminates the authority of the commissioner of education to run such program; expands the membership of the rural education advisory committee. Provides that the program is to disseminate research findings, information, materials and best practices. Directs the committee to promote community and school involvement and collaboration in the development and implementation of policies and activities, and to prepare an annual report, as well as special focus reports that may result from specific research and other activities.

Economic Development Funding

From the Center for Rural Affairs:

Since 2002, nearly every federal program that funds economic development and asset-building in rural communities has been cut, some by as much as 60 percent. With the notable exception of rural single-family housing loan programs, most rural development and rural asset-building programs witnessed significant reduction in Fiscal Years 2004 and 2005 after spending increases from 2002 to 2003.

Bob Schaffer on Rural Colorado

Colorado is in the midst of a hotly contested Senate race pitting Republican Bob Schaffer against Democrat Marc Udall. I've pulled out the references to rural places from the Bob on the Issues section of Mr. Schaffer's website:

Utilize beetle-killed tree waste to produce energy. Federal policy should aggressively encourage private removal and use of trees lost to infestation and other vestiges of poor forest-management practices. An opportunity exists to use this biomass for distributed energy production providing economic incentives for Colorado’s rural and mountain communities.

I guess that says it all.

Everybody Take a Deep Breath & Relax

There was a bit of a glitch today with the NREA listserv with responses to the original message being sent to everyone. These things happen, so lets refrain from sending snotty emails that end up going to everyone. On the bright side everyone used their words share their feelings. To subscribe visit the NREA website

Healthy Snacks for Schools

As a parent of 3 school-age swimmers, I understand the importance of good nutrition. Having healthy snacks available throughout the school day is important to learning because without good nutrition students aren't as alert. We try and send healthy snacks with our kids everyday but sometimes we forget or run out.

One solution is for schools to offer healthy snack options. YoNaturals, Inc. gives schools the opportunity to own their own Healthy Vending machines. The program provides healthy snacks while generating revenues for the school:

For the first time, your school can receive 100% of all profits generated while providing students with a full range of natural and organic snacks and drinks supplied to you via an easy to use online ordering system and delivered to your school FREE.

The program may be well suited for rural schools since the items are delivered for free. It may not be a fit for every school, but it's worth considering.

Senator Max Baucus on the Secure Rural Schools Program

Montana Senator Max Baucus gets it! The Secure Rural Schools program should not be funded by selling off public lands. From his Senate website:

The Secure Rural Schools program, which expired last year, is a critically important program for Montana. It provides funding for schools and road improvements that keep schools open and teachers employed in many Montana Communities. I will continue to cosponsor and fight for an extension of this important program.

Other proposals to fund the Secure Rural Schools program would sell off public lands to do so. I think that is an unacceptable solution, and I strongly oppose it. Public lands are important to our outdoor heritage and conservation legacy in Montana. We hunt, fish, and camp with our kids. The public lands we enjoy should be well managed and passed on for future generations to enjoy. We can find a better way to keep the Secure Rural Schools program running than selling off those lands.

You can make a donation on his campaign website.

Covering the Cost of School Lunch Programs

I found this report on balancing nutrition, participation, and costs in the national school lunch program interesting. At the beginning of the article are listed the following key points:

• Schools face the dual constraints of meeting nutrition requirements and covering costs.
  
• The free-meal subsidy covers most of the per meal cost, but the price paid by most paying students covers only half of the per meal cost.
  
• School foodservice managers say that to appeal to students and raise revenues, they need to offer less nutritious a la carte foods and vending snacks.

I wonder why the editors left this item of the list:

A clear way to increase revenues relative to costs is to get more students to join the lunch line. Following the lead of successful schools, an important change is to offer freshly made, healthful meals that students help to choose and that they have time to enjoy. Whether this is accomplished by completely revamping the program, by making it more efficient, or by raising prices charged to paying students, schools have shown that providing quality, nutritional meals can be done, and it can lead to higher participation rather than lower.

If you just read the key points, the implication is that schools have to offer less nutritious food in order to raise revenues. Why didn't they highlight offering freshly made, healthful foods? Maybe they didn't read the last paragraph.

The Rural Compact

The Rural Compact is a set of principles for building stronger rural communities and a stronger nation. Here's what they have to say about education:

Every child should have an equal chance to learn, excel, and help lead America to a better, brighter future. Education policy should recognize the distinctive challenges and opportunities for rural schools and reflect the unique needs of those students, families, and educators.

I'm trying to figure out whether I agree with the statement that "ever child should have a equal change to learn," or whether every child should have a fair or equitable chance. Other than that, I am in total agreement.

No Rural for Libertarians

I didn't expect to find a lot mention of rural areas on the Bob Barr Presidential Campaign website, but I expected to find at least one! I visited all 16 issues sections and there is no (none, zero, nil) mention of rural.

I don't agree with much on the Education & Homeschooling section, but I do agree with this:

Public schools should be managed locally, increasing accountability and parental involvement.

What a kooky idea!

It's hard for me to believe the Libertarian agenda would help rural schools and communities, but I could be wrong. No, I'm right.

School Consolidation Webinar

From the Rural School and Community Trust:

School Consolidation is the topic of the October 22, 2008, Rural School Innovation Network (RSIN) Webinar. The event will begin at 2 pm EDT. Across the nation, states are considering arguments for and against school closures. The key questions to be addressed include where this is happening and why, and what does current research say regarding the impact on students and rural communities. Learn what is driving these efforts and how to respond when state policy makers decide for you that your school is too small. The presentation and discussion will be led by the Rural Trust's Director of Policy, Marty Strange.

Two things about the webinar. First, we've got to get past consolidation if we want to transform rural schools and communities. Second, $45 for a webinar for nonmemebers?! Are you kidding me?

Rising Energy Costs Harm Rural Communities

From Amy Glasmeier on the Daily Yonder:

Since the 1950s, cheap energy enabled mobility through the Interstate Highway System, and the ensuing decentralization of people and economic activity benefitted rural areas. While there are no definitive studies that calculate just how much American rural development of the last 50 years owes to the low cost of transportation, nonetheless we can and should consider how today’s drastically changed circumstances will affect the potential for future economic growth of rural America.

We also need to consider how these circumstances will affect rural schools. I'm just guessing, but I don't think it's going to be pretty.

Obama On Rural Communities & Schools

From Barack Obama's offical website:

Rural communities are often left behind: Rural communities often struggle to attract capital because of lack of infrastructure and remote distances. There is less access to quality doctors, and schools have trouble recruiting teachers.

Specifically about rural schools:

Improve Rural Education: Obama and Biden will provide incentives for talented individuals to enter the teaching profession, including increased pay for teachers who work in rural areas. Obama and Biden will create a Rural Revitalization Program to attract and retain young people to rural America. Obama and Biden will increase research and educational funding for Land Grant colleges.

Prosperity for Rural America: What About Rural Schools?

From John McCain's offical website:

As President, John McCain will address the key issues facing agriculture and rural America:

• Establishing a comprehensive energy strategy
  
• Controlling taxation and regulation
  
• Judicial restraint and preserving property rights
  
• Providing a sustainable, market-driven risk management system for farmers
  
• Promoting agricultural markets and reducing trade barriers
  
• Improving incentives to invest in technology and rural infrastructure
  
• Encouraging common-sense conservation and food safety measures
  
• Securing America's borders and implementing a fair and practical immigration policy
  
• Recognizing the role of agriculture in national security
  
• Strengthen America's economic competitiveness by eliminating wasteful government spending

Nothing about rural schools? Why not?

Ralph Stanley on Barack Obama

Bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley endorses Barack Obama in a radio ad. The money quote:

He understands that our kids shouldn't have to leave our communities to find work.

Sustaining Rural Schooling through Place-consciousness in Teacher Education

There is some nice rural education work coming out of Australia. The most recent piece, by Simone White and Jo-Anne Reid, looks at the need for teacher education institutions to incorporate place-conscious pedagogies into the teacher preparation curriculum. Placing Teachers? Sustaining Rural Schooling through Place-consciousness in Teacher Education has been released by the Journal of Research in Rural Education. Here's the abstract:

This paper explores two seemingly disparate areas of social inquiry: teacher education and the sustainability of rural communities in Australia. It suggests that these may be usefully understood in close connection with each other, and that healthy rural communities may be supported via reform of the ways in which teacher education prepares graduates for teaching in rural schools. In making this argument we claim that consideration and consciousness of place are important for all teacher education curricula, not merely that on offer in rural and regional centers. We call for metropolitan-based teacher education institutions to consider curriculum practices that take a more active role in fostering healthy and productive rural communities through place-conscious approaches to pedagogy (Gruenewald, 2003). At the center of this call is a concern to ensure the provision of high-quality education for children in rural families and the need for well-trained teachers who are personally and professionally equipped to address the educational needs of their communities.

By the way, I've been really impressed by the job that Kai Schafft has done as editor of JRRE. We're fortunate that Kai has taken over so ably from Ted Coladarci. Ted would be a tough act for anyone to follow, and Kai has done a terrific job!

Harry Truman Address at the 1948 National Plowing Match

The following is an excerpt from President Harry Truman's speech at the National Plowing Match in Dexter, Iowa on September 18, 1948.

I wonder how many times you have to be hit on the head before you find out who's hitting you? It's about time that the people of America realized what the Republicans have been doing to them.

Why is it that the farmer and the worker and the small businessman suffer under Republican administrations and gain under Democratic administrations?

I'll tell you why. It is the result of a basic difference in the attitude between the Democratic and the Republican parties.

The Democratic Party represents the people. It is pledged to work for agriculture. It is pledged to work for labor. It is pledged to work for the small businessman and the white-collar worker.

The Democratic Party puts human rights and human welfare first.

But the attitude of the Republican gluttons of privilege is very different. The bigmoney Republican looks on agriculture and labor merely as expense items in a business venture. He tries to push their share of the national income down as low as possible and increase his own profits. And he looks upon the Government as a tool to accomplish this purpose.

Rural Teacher of the Year

A teacher in New Harmony, Indiana has been named Rural Teacher of the Year by the National Rural Education Association. Lois Mittino Gray, a science teacher at New Harmony Junior/Senior High School, will be honored at the National Rural Education Association's 100th convention in San Antonio October 27-29.

Gray teaches six lab classes, supervises the daily care of 22 assorted lab animals, and teaches a gifted and talented program. She also is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Indiana after her regular school hours.

She has taught at New Harmony since 1987, starting as a biology teacher educating students from the seventh to 12th grades. She serves on the New Harmony Parks and Recreation board and the New Harmony Garden Club, while promoting science education throughout southern Indiana. She created a senior level human biology class from which students can earn college credits at University of Southern Indiana.

The Rural Teacher of the Year Award is sponsored by the John Deere Co. Honorees receive a $2,000 honorarium ,and the school district receives $1,000 to purchase instructional materials and school supplies.

Very Difficult to Fill Teacher Vacancies

Rural districts had a more difficult time than nonrural districts hiring teachers in 7 out of 12 subjects examined by the National Center for Education Statistics. In 2003-2004, a higher percentage of rural schools reported it was very difficult to hire teachers in:

1. English as a second language (37.5%)
   
2. Foreign languages (35.2%)
   
3. Physical sciences (27.4%)
   
4. Special education (27.0%)
   
5. Music or art (20.5%)
   
6. Computer science (17.7%)
   
7. English/language arts (10.9%)
   

The statistics were reported in the Status of Education in Rural America, Table 3.11.

One-Size-Fits-All Policies & Practices Disadvantage Small Rural Schools

Principals of small rural schools face distinctive challenges that are not addressed by one-size-fits-all policies and practices according to a study from Australian researchers Karen Starr and Simone White. Results of the study, The Small Rural School Principalship: Key Challenges and Cross-School Responses, are reported in the Journal of Research in Rural Education.

What's Happened to the Center for Rural Education?

I hadn't heard anything for awhile from the Center for Rural Education at the U.S. Department of Education so I checked the website. The most current meeting summary available is from December 14, 2006. Does anybody know if the Center is still functioning?

Find the Rural in the REL Rural Education Project

I'm exited to see the great rural education projects the Regional Educational Laboratory System has produced with the $40 million they've spent over the past 2.5 years. This description of Effects of Odyssey Math® Software on the Mathematics Achievement of Selected Fourth Grade Students in the Mid-Atlantic Region: A Multi-Site Cluster Randomized Trial shows the commitment the Institute of Education Sciences has toward addressing the unique needs of rural school:

This study will examine the effectiveness of the CompassLearning Odyssey Math® software in 4th grade classrooms throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. The intervention group will use the Odyssey Math® package for 60 minutes per week within the school's standard Math instructional time, and have access to the developer's professional development training; the control group will use the school's regular curriculum. Key research questions to be addressed are:

1. Do Odyssey Math® classrooms outperform control classrooms on the mathematics subtest of the Terra Nova CTBS Basic Battery?
   
2. What is the effect of Odyssey® Math on the math performance of male and female students?
   
3. What is the effect of Odyssey Math® on the math performance of low and medium/high achieving students (as measured by the pretest)
   

Intervention:CompassLearning Odyssey Math® software and related training is a commercially available product and several schools in the Mid-Atlantic region either use it or expressed and interest in doing so. The software engages students in their own learning through challenging, interactive, computer-based activities that promote exploration, individual and cooperative learning, problem solving, reflection, and real-world connections. Teachers will use the software as a supplement, as opposed to a full curriculum package, and have access to a professional development package that entails summer training and follow-up coaching throughout the year. Software access is controlled via password access and the training scheme represents the standard approach the developer offers to schools.

Design and samples:The study is a multi-site cluster randomized controlled trial, where approximately 124 classrooms will be assigned to treatment and control conditions within schools (approximately 31). Schools will be recruited from the Mid-Atlantic region and preference will be given to buildings with at least four classrooms. Schools that already use Odyssey Math® in the third and fourth grades are not eligible to participate in the study.

Outcome measures:Math achievement will be measured during the 2007-08 school year using the 4th grade mathematics subtest of the Terra Nova CTBS (Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills) as pre and post-tests. The test vendor's scoring service will be used to make allowances for special education students and English language learners. To address the research question on whether there are differential impacts of the package on high/medium versus low math achievers, a series of secondary analyses will split students into groups based on pretest performance.

Study period:Recruitment and initial teacher training will take place during the 2006-2007 school year. Data will be collected during the 2007-2008 school year.

Did you see what's rural about the project? Neither did I. I'm sure it's a fine study otherwise.

America's Two Backyards

Tim Collins used to be the Director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools before it was eliminated by the U.S. Department of Education. Tim reflects on the economic gap between rural and urban Illinois in a piece from the Daily Yonder:

Today, I am riding on Amtrak from Macomb (population 20,000 or so) to Chicago (incredibly large) to testify to a legislative committee about broadband policy. ... Railroads tend to run through the nation’s back yards, offering a different perspective on towns and cities you may have driven through before. There is no doubt that the Illinois landscape is beautiful on this fine day, but my eye for rural community development cannot miss some distressing sights.

Increasingly, there are two backyards in America. One set of backyards includes the so-called urban ghettos of the 1960s and many rural areas, including small towns that don’t seem to be benefiting from this time of relatively high prices for agricultural commodities. The other set of backyards includes suburbs and vital business districts such as Chicago. The contrasts between these two sets of backyards are stark.

Rural slum seems a cruel and pejorative term to describe a rural town on this bucolic day. After all, romantic images of small-town America still linger deep in our cultural memories. But many of our rural towns are deteriorating, suffering from long-term effects of population loss, limited employment opportunities, growing poverty, and an aging population. Many young people go to the suburbs and downtowns where money, people, and opportunities reside.

...

The quick take of this essay is one word: inequality. I have lived and worked in and studied rural areas for much of my adult life. Although I know the long history of rural and urban inequities all too well, entering the vibrant suburbs and business district of Chicago is still something of a shock when compared with my home in Western Illinois, which is, from time to time, dubbed “Forgotonia.”

Rural School Leadership Lessons: Becoming a Great Leader

Bo Shembechler on seeking a mentor:

One of the biggest mistakes I see young coaches make—and young businessmen and doctors and lawyers, too, for that matter—is thinking their first job should make them rich or famous. When you're in your twenties, those things shouldn't matter. They didn't to me. Maybe they never should. They didn't to me. But especially when your're young, big money doesn't matter. Big names don't either.

Good organizations matter. Good bosses matter.

If you want to be a great leader, you need to prepare yourself to be a great leader, and the best way to do that is to study great leaders. (Bo’s Lasting Lessons,p. 7-8)

McCain & Obama on Broadband Access in Rural Communities

What role should the federal government play in bring broadband access to rural communities? Using National Public Radio interviews with advisors to the McCain and Obama campaigns, the Daily Yonder highlights the differences between the candidates.

NPR: What role should the federal government play in guaranteeing broadband access, particularly in rural communities?

Michael Powell, technology advisor to the McCain campaign:

I think, actually - and he would agree - the government has an important role to play in broadband access in rural communities. In fact, the senator is promoting a program called People Connect, in which he would hope to provide tax benefits and financial benefits to companies who would provide those services to low-income users and rural users.

I think the problem in rural parts of America are that the economics are not nearly as compelling as they are in metropolises like New York or Chicago or Los Angeles, and it may require some government assistance, either through financial subsidy policy or other kinds of creative tools like community or municipal broadband services that help bring those people into the cosmos of technology and connects them to the wonderful benefits that the Net provides.

William Kennard, technology advisor to the Obama campaign:

Well, there again you have a stark difference between the two candidates. Senator McCain has not been supportive of the universal service fund in the country. That is a mechanism that we've used for decades in this country to get phone service into rural areas. Senator Obama embraces it. Because the reality is if we rely simply on the free market, there will be many people in this country that will have to do without. And Senator Obama believes that this is not just a question of access to technology. This is fundamentally about economic development. It's about making sure that people in rural areas can participate in the Information Age.

Rural AmeriTowne

Rural AmeriTown is a resource for schools in northeastern Colorado, northwestern Kansas, and southwestern Nebraska. It offers a hands-on introduction to basic principles of our economic system by allowing students to run their own rural town.

At school, students engage in a variety of interactive lessons that focus on banking, civics, free enterprise, advertising, laws, philanthropy, job interviews and more. Students prepare for their opportunity to run a life-size town by interviewing for jobs, conducting employee business meetings, and attending job-training sessions.

During a day-long field trip, the students move into the town of 10 businesses and transform from students of economics to citizens of Rural AmeriTowne.

Rural AmeriTowne is modeled after Young AmeriTowne, and has been adapted to a rural economy. It is a project of the Young Americans Center for Financial Education

Rural School Leadership Lessons: Passion

In his book Bo’s Lasting Lessons, which was published after he died in 2006, Bo Schembechler discussed the importance of passion:

Let’s start with first things first: passion. Because without that, nothing else I’m going to tell you in this book is going to be worth a damn. It just won’t do you any good,

Because the fact is, you’re never going to be able to lead others effectively unless you put your whole heart into what you’re doing. If it’s just a job to you, it’s going to be just a job to them. And trust me: You’re not going to fool them. (p. 3)

For rural school leaders that means having passion for children and education. It also means having passion for the community in which they work. If you’re more interested in making money than you are about being part of a community, you probably won’t be successful in a rural school.

NREA Convention Destination: San Antonio

The 100th Annual Convention of the National Rural Education Association will be held at the Omni Hotel at the Colonnade in San Antonio, Monday, October 27 through Wednesday, October 29.

The first NREA Convention I attended was in San Antonio in 1996. Two things I remember most are that they served chicken at every meal (and the same dessert) and that none of the other people from Regional Educational Laboratories went to the meals. On the plus side, it's where I first met great people like Barbara Havlicek, Bob Newhouse, Paula Hodges, and Hobart Harmon.

REAP Reauthorization

Last September, Senator Kent Conrad introduced a bill to reauthorize the Rural Education Achievement Program. A key element of that legislation involves a change in how rural is defined. What effect, if any, will this change have on districts?

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, some districts change classifications under the new classification systems. In Colorado, the following districts go from rural to nonrural:

Archuleta County 50 Jt

Aspen 1

Buena Vista R-31

Garfield 16

Lone Star 101

Pueblo County Rural

Districts moving from non-rural to rural are:

Eagle County Re-50

Falcon 49

Lewis Palmer 38

Sargent Re-33J

The change from what are known as the Metro-centric Locale Codes to the Urban-centric Locale Codes will have almost no effect on SRSA participation among Colorado district. Lone Star 101 is the only district that would have been eligible for the Small Rural Schools Achievement program of REAP that could lose eligibility because of it's change in locale. States can request waivers to included districts as rural if a state agency classifies them as rural. Can we all agree Lone Star is rural? I thought so.

Sargent is the one district that becomes eligible for the SRSA program that wasn't eligible before. All the other districts have more than 600 students making them ineligible for the SRSA program. They could be eligible for the Rural Low-Income Schools program if they meet poverty thresholds.

The next question is what effect, if any, will there be on eligibility for the Rural Low Income Schools program? Another question is whether all of the districts participating in RLIS program are really rural. That'll be fun to figure out.