All school districts must maintain a certain set of services no matter what the location, including facilities, staff, transportation and food services. It costs a small school more to provide these services. Rural schools face many challenges in acquiring the financial and human resources necessary to offer the quality of education students need. Rural school districts have a harder time attracting and retaining teachers and administrators.
Small schools are often seen as a stepping stone to suburban schools where there is better pay, possibly fewer classes to prepare for and other perks. Rural districts may have difficulty offering advanced academic or vocational courses due to finances and available personnel. Rural school districts face closing or consolidating schools due to population loss or perceived cost saving measures.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tools
Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement
Web site
Designed to assist schools and districts involved in school reform by providing information about research based strategies to help achieve this goal.
Center for Rural Education
Web site
Disseminates information regarding research and practice on a wide range of topics of particular importance to schools and communities in rural America and to bring renewed attention to the problems and issues of students in rural schools.
Center for the Study of Small/Rural Schools
Web site
Endorsed by the National Rural Education Association as one of its five recognized rural education research centers, the center assists small and rural schools in building and maintaining necessary knowledge bases, in the areas of school improvement and reform, restructuring, staff development, administration, and teaching.
Child Nutrition Programs
Web site
Lists state agencies administering the Child Nutrition Programs, guidance, regulations, policy, and reimbursement rates.
Department of Education State Contacts
Web site
Locates state department of education, state contacts and organizations, ED press releases for your state, and other state information.
Education Task Force: The State We're In
Web site
A comprehensive, state-by-state snapshot of education today in America. Seven of the most pressing education issues are explored in reports encompassing all 50 states. Individual state report cards provide a comprehensive look at education in each of the 50 states. Compares performance by ranking states from first to worst.
FindYouthInfo.gov
Web site
Promotes positive, healthy outcomes for youth and provides information on topics such as youth employment, civic engagement, afterschool programs, bullying, and preventing youth violence.
Foundation for Rural Education and Development (FRED)
Database
Addresses the educational and developmental needs of rural areas. Mission is to sponsor programs and activities that improve the educational, social and economic conditions of rural areas. Provides funds to sponsor scholarships, awards and programs that directly benefit rural America.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools
Web site
A comprehensive resource to help schools maintain a healthy environment in school buildings by identifying, correcting, and preventing indoor air quality problems.
MedlinePlus: Bullying
Web site
Provides research articles on bullying, various websites, organizations and more.
Model-based Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) for School Districts, Counties, and States
Web site
Provides more current estimates of selected income and poverty statistics than the most recent decennial census. Created for states, counties, and school districts, and intended for the administration of federal programs and the allocation of federal funds to local jurisdictions.
Office of Head Start
Web site
Provides child-focused programs which increase the school readiness of young children.
Resources for Rural Afterschool Programs
Database
Provides a list of programs and ongoing projects regarding after school programs for rural children.
Rural Education in America
Database
Provides access to data, studies, tabulations, and resources regarding rural education in the United States.
Rural Education Resource Center
Web site
Offers access to programs, news, events, and resources regarding schools and education in rural communities.
Safe Routes to School Program
Web site
This program empowers communities to make walking and bicycling to school a safe and routine activity once again. The Program makes funding available for a wide variety of programs and projects, from building safer street crossings to establishing programs that encourage children and their parents to walk and bicycle safely to school.
School Breakfast Program (SBP)
Web site
Provides cash assistance to States to operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare institutions.
Stop Bullying Now Campaign
Web site
Offers educational materials for parents, educators and health professionals. Kid oriented website which provides flash movies, games, and tips.
Too Smart to Start
Web site
Works to help communities prevent underage alcohol use and its related problems. Provides programs and strategies, downloadable materials, plus interactive games and exercises.
Waste-Free Lunches
Web site
A collection of success stories that help to reduce lunchtime waste. Programs were submitted by teachers, administrators, parents, and various environmental organizations.
Funding
2012 Midwest Garden Grant
Grants to schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs.
America's Farmers Grow Rural Education Program
Grants in over twelve hundred counties across thirty-nine states to help strengthen local communities and education systems, especially in the areas of science and/or math.
Area Health Education Centers Infrastructure Development
Funding for cooperative agreements to establish and advance statewide or multi-county AHEC programs.
Beyond Words: The Dollar General School Library Relief Program
Benefits public school libraries recovering from major disasters. The fund provides grants for books, media and/or equipment that support learning in a school library environment.
CVS Caremark Community Grants
Grants to support children with disabilities and healthcare for the uninsured.
Dollar General Adult Literacy Grants
Awards funding to non-profit organizations that provide direct service to adults in need of literacy assistance.
Dollar General Family Literacy Grants
Grants to direct family literacy service providers.
Ethyl Grant Program
Funding for rural communities and schools.
Foundation for Rural Education and Development (FRED) Scholarships
Scholarships to rural America's most accomplished and intelligent students.
Indian Education Demonstration Grants for Indian Children
Grants to provide financial assistance to projects to develop, test, and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve the educational opportunities and achievement of preschool, elementary, and secondary Indian students.
Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies (Part 1)
Grants to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and other eligible entities described in this notice in their efforts to reform and improve elementary and secondary school programs that serve Indian students.
Indian Education Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies (Part II)
Grants to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and other eligible entities described in this notice in their efforts to reform and improve elementary and secondary school programs that serve Indian students.
It’s All About the Fruit and Veggies Grant Program
Grant program to provide schools with gardening supplies, curriculum materials, and plants to help create engaging nutrition and gardening experiences.
Jewel-Osco In Your Community
Funding to nonprofit and school programs for hunger relief, health, and nutrition.
Let's Play Community Construction Grants
Grants to be used toward the purchase of playground equipment that will be built using the KaBOOM! community-build model.
Libri Books for Children Program
Donates new, quality, hardcover children's books for small, rural public libraries in the United States.
Lowe's Toolbox for Education Program
Grants for public school improvement projects.
Mini Grant Program
Mini - grants to rural schools.
Monsanto Fund Rural Teacher of the Year Award
Grant to rural teachers and rural schools.
National School Lunch/After School Snack Program
Funding to provide nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day.
NEA Foundation Learning & Leadership Grants
Grants to support public school teachers, public education support professionals, and/or faculty and staff in public institutions of higher education.
Office Depot Community Relations Program
Supports local non-profit organizations with product donations and funding.
Regional Community Health Grants Program
This program provides funding focused on reducing disparities in health care among racial and ethnic populations in eligible geographic areas.
RGK Foundation Grants
Grants that support projects in the broad areas of education, community, and medicine/health.
Rural and Low-Income School Program
Formula grants to State educational agencies (SEAs), which in turn award subgrants to eligible LEAs either competitively or on a formula basis.
School Breakfast Program (SBP)
Provides cash assistance to States to operate nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and residential childcare institutions.
Schools and Libraries Program Universal Service Fund
Provides discounts to assist most schools and libraries in the United States to obtain affordable telecommunications and Internet access.
Special Milk Program
A program that provides milk to children in schools, child care institutions and eligible camps that do not participate in other Federal child nutrition meal service programs.
Summer Food Service Program
Funding to provide free, nutritious meals and snacks to help children in low-income areas get the nutrition they need during the summer months.
USDA Community Facilities Loan and Grant Program
Funding to construct, enlarge, or improve essential community facilities for health care, public safety, and public services in rural areas.
Wal-Mart National Giving Program
Funding to support the replication of a particularly innovative local or regional initiative at other sites around the country.
Wal-Mart State Giving Program
The Wal-Mart Foundation has adopted four areas of focus: Education, Workforce Development / Economic Opportunity, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Sustainability.
Wal-Mart Store and Sam's Club Giving Programs
Funding to local nonprofit organizations in four main areas of focus: Education, Workforce Development / Economic Opportunity, Health & Wellness and Environmental Sustainability.
William Randolph Hearst Foundations Grants
The Hearst Foundations are national philanthropic resources for organizations and institutions working in the fields of Education, Health, Culture and Social Service.
Inactive Funding
Inactive Funding Opportunities -
Lists additional funding programs for this topic that are not currently accepting applications. Programs that are inactive may be offered again in the future.
Maps & Map Collections
High School Graduates
Interactive
Geographic coverage: United States
Printable map that shows the percent of population with a high school diploma or higher educational attainment nationwide by county. Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing, 2000.
Date: 2000
Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents
Best Fiscal Management Practices for Rural Schools
Author(s): Jerry Johnson
Sponsoring organization: Rural School and Community Trust
Highlights some of the leading policy issues faced by education stakeholders and presents rural-specific strategies to ensure both sound fiscal management practices and a high quality education for all students.
Date: 11 / 2004
Breaking the Fall: Cushioning the Impact of Rural Declining Enrollment
Author(s): Lorna Jimerson
Sponsoring organization: Rural School and Community Trust
Highlights the role that state educational policies have in either magnifying the challenges of declining enrollment, or mitigating them. Contains 20 policy recommendations, primarily focused on state funding formulas.
Date: 02 / 2006
Education in Chronically Poor Rural Areas Lags Across Generations
Author(s): Jessica D. Ulrich
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Concludes that people in chronically poor rural areas have relatively low education levels and highlights the need to invest in the educational systems of such areas.
Date: 03 / 2011
Evaluation of the Impact of Rural School Consolidation: What challenges may a new round of rural school consolidations have on the safety, educational performance and social environment of rural communities?
Author(s): Dennis Purcell, Rexanna Shackelford
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Education Association
Discusses considerations necessary to evaluate the impact of rural school consolidation, focuses on student, family and community safety, and addresses controversial and challenging issues when considering school closings.
Date: 01 / 2005
Intervention Programs Target Childhood Chronic Disease
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Highlights health intervention programs, such as the CARDIAC Project in West Virginia, who are using school screenings to identify children at-risk for heart disease and diabetes.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Volume 2011 Issue Winter
Date: 02 / 2011
Lessons Learned from Rural Schools
Author(s): Gerald Carter, Larry Lee, Owen Sweatt
Discusses the education of the 30 percent of Alabama's children who go to public school in rural communities. Presents the results on a study involving 10 rural schools and 10
communities in rural Alabama.
Date: 05 / 2009
Parents' Perceptions of the Rural School Bus Ride
Author(s): Ramage, Rob, Howley, Aimee
Findings from a study of the perceptions of 26 parents and 37 students about the experience of long rural bus rides.
Journal citation: Rural Educator
Date: 2005
Prioritizing the Nation’s Lowest-Performing High Schools: The Need for Targeted Federal Policy
Addresses the crisis involving drop-out rates among high school students. Compares data by rural, urban, and suburban schools and describes the need for policy changes.
Date: 04 / 2010
Promise and the Power of Distance Learning in Rural Education
Author(s): Vicki Hobbs
Sponsoring organization: Rural School and Community Trust
Explains how the benefits of distance learning, and two-way interactive television can far outweigh the costs - allowing the small, rural schools that educate one-third of our nation's children to retain the assets associated with their small size, while overcoming curricular limitations.
Date: 08 / 2004
Reading Levels of Rural and Urban Third Graders Lag Behind Their Suburban Peers
Author(s): Suzanne Graham, Christine Teague
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Finds that the reading levels of rural and urban third-graders lag behind the reading levels of their suburban peers with consequences that can affect later educational outcomes.
Date: 2011
Recruitment and Retention Of A Quality Health Workforce in Rural Areas, Number 7: Rural Health Careers Pipeline: Kindergarten to 12th Grade Education
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
Discusses the shortage of health care providers in rural areas, and the impact that health career programs for rural students could have on the supply of health care providers. Part of a series of issue papers addressing rural health care workforce development through career pipeline programs.
Date: 02 / 2006
Role of Education: Promoting the Economic and Social Vitality of Rural America
Sponsoring organization: Southern Rural Development Center
Discusses the relationship between rural schools and communities. Includes nine articles covering the impact of education on the local economy, links between rural schools and communities, and how to create successful rural schools.
Date: 01 / 2005
Rural Dropout Problem: An Invisible Achievement Gap
Author(s): Jerry Johnson, Marty Strange, Karen Madden
Sponsoring organization: Rural School and Community Trust
Reviews high school dropout rates and related factors in rural high schools throughout 15 Southern and Southwestern states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia.
Date: 2010
Rural Education at a Glance
Author(s): Robert Gibbs
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Statistics on rural educational attainment and overview of the impact of education levels on rural economic development.
Date: 01 / 2004
Rural Youth are More Likely to be Idle
Author(s): Anastasia Snyder, Diane McLaughlin
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Discusses how rural young adults are more likely than urban to not be in school and not be working.
Date: 02 / 2008
School-Based Programs Help Children Shape Up
Author(s): Candi Helseth
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Highlights schools who are working nutrition education and increased physical activity into their curriculums in an effort to combat childhood obesity.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor Volume 2011 Issue Winter
Date: 02 / 2011
Spotlight on Rural Research: Importance of Rural Schools
Author(s): Thomas Rowley
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center
Discusses how rural education and community development are interrelated. High achieving schools and related human capital investment strategies are key ingredients in the promotion of
sustainable development at the local level.
Journal citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 2005
Status of Education in Rural America
Author(s): Stephen Provasnik
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Education Statistics
Measures the status of education conditions rural America. Discusses demographics, outcomes, and resources.
Date: 07 / 2007
Students in Rural Schools Have Limited Access to Advanced Mathematics Courses
Author(s): Suzanne E. Graham
Sponsoring organization: Carsey Institute
Finds that students in rural areas and small towns have less access to advanced math courses than their peers elsewhere.
Date: 2009
Study Examines Differences between High and Low Achieving Rural High Schools
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Affairs
Examines what factors are needed to create high-achieving rural schools in a study titled The Qualities That Differentiate High-Achieving and Low-Achieving High-Poverty Rural High Schools by Dr. Perri Applegate of the University of Oklahoma.
Journal citation: Center for Rural Affairs Newsletter
Date: 09 / 2008
Violence and Rural Teens: Teen Violence, Drug Use, and School-Based Prevention Services in Rural America (Executive Summary)
Author(s): Michael D. Mink, Charity G. Moore, Andy Johnson, Janice C. Probst, Amy Martin
Sponsoring organization: South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Describes a study which had three main purposes: (1) to explore the prevalence of violence-related
exposures and drug use among rural teens, (2) to investigate the effects of race and gender on the
risk of exposure to violence and drug use, and (3) to compare the policies and mental health care
services of rural and urban schools.
Date: 03 / 2005
Why Rural Matters 2009: State and Regional Challenges and Opportunities
Author(s): Jerry Johnson, Marty Strange
Sponsoring organization: Rural School and Community Trust
Presents the fifth in a series of biennial reports which analyze the contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states.
Date: 2009
Journals
Journal of Research in Rural Education
Publishes results of educational research conducted in or relevant to rural settings.
Rural Policy Matters
Monthly newsletter covering news of interest to citizens and community groups working on state-level policy issues affecting rural schools.
Organizations
Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Nationwide initiative dedicated to improving the health and educational performance of children through better nutrition and physical activity in schools. Provides tools and resources to support healthy schools.
Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Federal government
Funds state, local, and tribal organizations to provide family assistance (welfare), child support, child care, Head Start, child welfare, and other programs relating to children and families. Operates the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF). It is part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Afterschool Alliance
Nonprofit/Foundation
Dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of afterschool programs and advocating for quality, affordable programs for all children.
American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES)
National organization
Organization of special educators, general educators, related service providers, administrators, teacher trainers, researchers, and parents who are committed to the enhancement of services to students and individuals living in rural America.
American School Health Association (ASHA)
National organization
The American School Health Association's mission is to protect and promote the health and well-being of children and youth through coordinated school health programs as a foundation for school success.
Center for Schools and Communities
National organization
Focuses on prevention and intervention initiatives operated by schools, organizations and agencies serving children, youth and families. Bullying Prevention is one of their initiatives.
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)
National organization
Works to build and strengthen the capacity of community coalitions to create safe, healthy and drug-free communities.
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.)
Nonprofit/Foundation
Teaches kids how to recognize and resist the direct and subtle pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs.
Early College High School Initiative
Nonprofit/Foundation
Establishes Early College High Schools, which are designed so that low-income youth, first-generation college goers, English language learners, students of color, and other young people underrepresented in higher education can simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree or up to two years of credit toward a Bachelor’s degree—tuition free.
Education Commission of the States (ECS)
National organization
Works to improve public education by facilitating the exchange of information, ideas and experiences among state policymakers and education leaders.
MENTOR / National Mentoring Partnership
National organization
Works with state and local partnerships to provide resources, services, and support needed to serve young people. Includes programs for after school mentoring as well as caregiving programs for children whose parent(s) are in prison. Offers the Mentoring Children of Prisoners: Caregiver's Choice.
National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
National organization
Encourages collaborations between schools and communities to ensure that all children and adolescents have access to health care.
National Association of School Nurses (NASN)
National organization
Improves the health and educational success of children and youth by developing and providing leadership to advance school nursing practice.
National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE)
National organization
Works to strengthen state leadership in educational policymaking, promote excellence in the education of all students, advocate equality of access to educational opportunity, and assure continued citizen support for public education.
National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives (NCRECLI)
National organization
Focuses on research on early childhood policy and practice in rural America.
National Education Association (NEA)
National organization
Committed to advancing the cause of public education. Supports the development of programs that recognize and deal with the needs of students, educators, school employees and communities in the nation's vast rural areas.
National Head Start Association (NHSA)
National organization
National school readiness program in the United States which provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families.
National Indian Education Association (NIEA)
National organization
Supports traditional Native cultures and values, enables Native learners to become contributing members of their communities, promotes Native control of educational institutions, and improves educational opportunities and resources for American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians throughout the United States.
National Rural Education Association (NREA)
National organization
Oldest established national organization of its kind in the United States. Serves as a national advocate and representative for rural education, at all levels.
Organizations Concerned About Rural Education (OCRE)
National organization
Coalition of over two dozen organizations which are dedicated to the improvement of public education and economic development in rural America.
Rural School and Community Trust
National organization
Works with a network of schools and community groups striving to improve the quality of education, state policy on education, and community life. Emphasis is national but pays particular focus to rural places distressed by historic patterns of poverty and racism, or stressed by declines in population, major changes in population composition and fundamental economic change.
School-Based Health Care Policy Program
Nonprofit/Foundation
Works to increase the sustainability of school-based health centers.
U.S. Department of Education (ED)
Federal government
Works to ensure equal access to education, and to promote educational excellence for all Americans.
Terms & Acronyms
General Education Development (GED) Provides people over the age of 16 the opportunity to earn a certificate or diploma that is widely recognized as the equivalent of a high school diploma.
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) The law that sets deadlines for states to expand the scope and frequency of student testing, revamp their accountability systems and guarantee that every teacher is qualified in their subject area.
School Consolidation Process of dissolving or reorganizing one or more schools or school districts into one new unit.
Success Stories
Cold Water Safety in the Schools Program
This program was established to deliver cold water safety and survival training to rural teachers, paraprofessionals, pool staff, and rural elementary, middle, and high school children throughout Alaska.
For Our Children
The project objective was to provide improved health care services to 2,500 K–12 students by using grant funds to provide a full-time Registered Nurse and one dedicated social worker to local public schools.
Healthy Child Project
A partnership between a community action agency and six rural school districts established preventive health clinics in the schools of six northwest Iowa counties, significantly improving the access and availability of preventive health care for children 0 to 18 years of age.
Healthy Kids Clinic
Three local school districts, two local health departments, one nonprofit health agency, and all local area physicians and dental providers formed a consortium to provide health and dental services to students in the schools regardless of income or insurance status.
Humphreys County Memorial Hospital Rural Health Outreach Program
The project’s main goals were to increase the numbers of K–12 students who are covered by health insurance, who use the health care services provided, and who follow up on recommended health care; to increase transportation to primary and specialty health providers; and to decrease the number of families of K–12 students who are noncompliant in regard to their children’s health needs.
Loudon School Health Consortium
A school-based health center to bridge the gap between health education and services.
Marshalltown Community/School Health
Outreach grant funds were used to implement a school-based health program designed to improve the overall health status of school-aged children and to teach families how to access medical and dental services in the community.
Nelson County Rural Health Outreach
This Rural Health Outreach Program launched a school nursing program that placed registered nurses in each of the six Nelson County public schools as well as creating a supplementary health education program provided by a registered nurse who traveled to each site.
North Idaho School Nursing Services Cooperative
The primary goal of the consortium was to improve the effectiveness of school nursing services by standardizing policies and protocols for medication delivery, emergency care, and care plan management of medically fragile and at-risk students, and to provide care plan management for vulnerable children in the public school system.
Rockingham County Student Health Centers
Morehead Memorial Hospital of Eden, North Carolina, has collaborated with existing county services to establish a student health center in each of the county’s four high schools.
Rural Health Outreach Grant Program (West Wendover, Nevada)
Four consortium members created this program to provide local access to mental health services and to provide a school-based program teaching resiliency and social skills to school-aged children and their parents.
Rural Health Outreach School-Based Health Program
Eleven organizations participated in the consortium which offered comprehensive medical evaluation and assessment, physical exams, vision and hearing screenings, nutritional assessment, dental screenings, mental health and substance abuse services, and violence and pregnancy prevention services to school-aged children.
School Health Network (Canton, Illinois)
This network was designed to increase access to health care for school-aged children, improve student health status, and decrease absenteeism as well as launching a “Prevention Coalition” to address four key public health challenges in local schools: alcohol and other drug use; violence; teen pregnancy; and transmission of HIV and other STDs.
Youth Health Initiative
School-based health clinics were established in six schools in two counties with successful innovations that included free immunizations for all youth in the targeted schools, a social worker to identify and enroll students eligible for Medicaid or CHIP and to perform case management on all enrollees, and teen educational programs and counseling services.
|
