America needs better rural public education. Millions of children attend classes in trailers or dilapidated schools. Half of those schools are rural or in small towns. Here are information and tools you can use to build better schools in your community. (take action).
Homepage; Sitemap;
OCRE Urges Rural Schools to Use, Support QZABs; News; Links;
Meet the coalition/ the members; Contacts for media/more info.
Resources: Here in our resources library, you will find links to basic information about rural public education and current issues:
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation fosters public policies, human-service reforms, and community supports that effectively meet the needs of vulnerable children and families. Its Rural Families section offers resources either published or funded by the Casey Foundation.
- Information about resources for rural schools, recent data, periodic studies and tabulations about rural schools prepared by the National Center for Education Studies (NCES) at the U.S. Department of Education are available at this site.
- The Education Commission of the States offers a comprehensive website that focuses on education policy. Founded in 1965 by interstate compact as a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing the states’ interest in education, it serves state policymakers at all levels.
- The National Rural Network NRN is a group of non-governmental organizations that are rural stakeholders who can provide Capitol Hill, the Administration, and the public with information about the full breadth of the issues that compose the new rural reality in America. For information visit NRN.
- The Rural School and Community Trust is a program that seeks to understand complex issues affecting rural schools and communities; to inform the public debate over rural education policy; and to help rural communities act on education policy issues affecting them. Visit the Rural Trust (Google search).
- Learn more about the key legislative issues affecting public education and take action on behalf of America’s children at NEA’s Legislative Action Center.
- Major legislative bills, action before Congress and committees, are immediately available from Thomas.
- The National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, tells you all about school construction, maintenance, design, etc., and what other school districts are doing to solve their need for better school facilities. Visit the National Clearinghouse for Education Facilities NCEF.
- School buildings are deteriorating at an alarming rate. Children are increasingly exposed to serious environmental health hazards, merely by going to school. Healthy Schools Network started in New York state and is spearheading a national effort to promote healthy schools legislation and secure funds for healthy school initiatives. A study of national significance and a grant program are included in the No Child Left Behind Act. For more information, visit Healthy Schools Network.
- SchoolGrants is a website that posts grant opportunities that can benefit K-12 schools, educators, and schools. Grant opportunities are listed by state and region as well as those available nationwide. Visit School Grants.org.
- The National Research Center on Rural Education Support conducts a focused program of research to seek solutions to common problems in rural education, and thus increase the quality of services to children in rural communities. The NRCRES was established in 2004 with funding from the Institute for Educational Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education.
- The National Education Association, Verizon, and several other leading corporations and industry associations created an exhibit, « TECH: Making the Grade, » at NEA’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. More than a dozen interactive exhibits illustrate technology that is transforming education, enhancing teaching and learning, linking schools and communities, and overcoming barriers of distance and disability. To visit the exhibit or arrange group tours, call 202-822-7360.
- Find out how to link knowledge from research with wisdom from experience to solve your district’s educational problems. Visit one of the nation’s leading educational laboratories, the Appalachian Regional Educational Laboratory. Click here for EDVANTIA.