News Archives (2009)

Students in Rural Schools Have Limited Access to Advanced Mathematics Courses

(December 2009) A new Carsey Institute brief reveals that students in rural areas and small towns have less access to higher-level mathematics courses than students in urban settings, which results in serious educational consequences, including lower scores on assessment tests and fewer qualified students entering science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) job pipelines. To access the report, click here.

Rep. Glenn Thompson visits Rural Center

(August 2009) University Park, Pa. – U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) paid a visit to the College of Education Aug. 11 and received an overview of ongoing research and outreach efforts at the Center on Rural Education and Communities (CREC).

Thompson and members of his staff met with Kai Schafft, the center’s director, and Jacqueline Edmondson, associate dean for undergraduate and graduate studies. Thompson represents Pennsylvania's 5th Congressional District.

“Congressman Thompson serves one of the largest rural districts in the nation and he clearly understands the need for policies to serve rural people,” said Edmondson, who serves as associate editor of the Journal of Research in Rural Education, housed within CREC.

“The congressman was interested in learning more about our Rural Center—what we do and what resources we provide by way of research and outreach regarding the well-being of rural schools and communities," Schafft said. “We had a very productive conversation and I was extremely pleased that the congressman reached out to our center. He expressed particular interest in being able to rely on the center as a source of research-based information on rural education and communities.”

Thompson had a particular eye on the policy-relevant work being done at CREC and examined the extent to which the Rural Center serves as a clearinghouse of information and resources related to rural issues. CREC conducts and supports research and outreach activities that address rural education and community-related issues across Pennsylvania, the nation, and the world.

“As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, Congressman Thompson will be involved in important upcoming discussions concerning the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,” said Edmondson. “We are pleased that he considers the College of Education as a resource and we look forward to continued connections with his office.”

Thompson indicated that he may look to Schafft and other CREC affiliates to provide congressional testimony on future issues that affect rural schools.

Schafft also showed Thompson the connection between CREC and the research efforts of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Mid-Atlantic, also housed in the College of Education. The national REL initiative consists of 10 regional centers under the auspices of the Institute of Education Sciences, an arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Within its five state region, REL Mid-Atlantic serves a large number of rural school districts.

Thompson learned that one of the public schools in his district was honored last year with an award co-sponsored by CREC and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools. St. Marys Middle School received the 2008 Building Community through Rural Education Award for developing a regional environmental learning center to serve its students -- as well as students from neighboring schools -- while spearheading a school-led effort to protect the local environment. The project consists of an outdoor classroom, a greenhouse complex, a trout nursery, nature trails and alternative energy sources, including a wind turbine and solar panels.

University of Nebraska Wins US DoE Grant to Host National Rural Education Center

(July 2009) The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has received a grant of nearly $10 million from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to establish the National Center for Research on Rural Education. The center will conduct rural education research to improve student learning in reading, science and math. Research on rural education is limited and the center will provide the infrastructure, leadership and expertise to focus on unique rural needs, said UNL's Susan Sheridan, Willa Cather professor and professor of educational psychology, who heads the new center. The center will be housed withinUNL's Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, a part of the College of Education and Human Sciences. The Center has previously been based at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Read the press release here.

Center for Rural PA Releases Research Brief on Rural Youth Aspirations

(July 2009) The Rural Youth Education Study is a longitudinal study of two cohorts of rural youth that began in 2004 and will continue to 2010 to collect a total of four waves of data. The main goal of the study is to understand the future educational, career and residential aspirations of Pennsylvania’s rural youth, how these aspirations change over time, and what factors are associated with youth aspirations and their ultimate attainment of those aspirations. Wave 2 data, which is detailed here, has provided the researchers with the first opportunity to examine change over time. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania has just released this brief which can be accessed here.

President Obama Announces Rural Tour

(June 2009) Today, President Obama announced the launch of his Administration’s Rural Tour. This summer, over the course of the next few weeks and months, top Administration officials, including Cabinet Secretaries, will fan out across the nation to hold a series of discussions on how communities, states, and the federal government can work together to help strengthen rural America. These events, involving multiple Cabinet secretaries, will serve as listening sessions to focus on such issues as broad-based rural health, economic development, infrastructure, education, energy, natural resources, and agriculture. Events will be held in Alaska, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. And, Secretary Vilsack will hold listening sessions in additional states with local and state elected officials. On August 17, Secretaries Arne Duncan and Tom Vilsack will travel to Hamlet, NC, to discuss rural education. Read the White House press release here.  Read the commentary on the White House Rural Tour by the Rural School and Community Trust here.  The USDA has launched a new website connected to the rural tour.  You can access the website here.

Meeting at White House to Discuss Rural Education

(May 2009) The White House invited a group of rural education stakeholders to come to discuss pressing issues connected to rural education. Read the Rural Education Issues Group’s summation of the meeting here.  Read an account of the meeting by Fransisco Guajardo from the Daily Yonder here.

Carsey Institute Releases Report on Schooling, Work and Idleness Among Rural Youth

(April 2009) The Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire released a report by Anastasia Snyder, Diane McLaughlin and Alisha Coleman-Jensen entitled The New, Longer Road to Adulthood: Schooling, Work and Idleness Among Rural Youth.  The report focuses on the education and work experiences of rural youth during the emerging adult years (age 20-24), comparing experiences with thsose in central city and suburvban areas. To access the full report, click here. Diane McLaughlin is an affiliate of the Center on Rural Education and Communities.

Governor Calls for Possible School Consolidation in Pennsylvania

(Feb. 2009) Governor Rendell requested that the General Assembly form a commission with the goal of reducing the number of school districts from 500 to 100 to eliminate duplication of services and reduce taxpayer costs. Read the press release from the Governor’s Office here. Read a Fact Sheet on the request here. Access a presentation by Marty Strange of the Rural School and Community Trust here. Also, see the multiple resources related to school consolidation on the CREC website here.