More than 50% of America's schools today exist in rural settings. This book addresses the distinctiveness of rural school leaders, identifies issues encountered by administrators, faculty, and students, and concludes by proposing new standards for rural schools in general and their leaders. This book will be of special interest to everyone involved in the operation of a rural school district.

Foreword	p. xiii
Acknowledgements	p. xv
The Rural Setting
Introduction: Educational Leadership for Rural Schools	p. 3
Rural Roots: From the Editor	p. 3
Implications for Rural School Leadership	p. 7
Organization of the Book	p. 7
How to Use This Book	p. 9
The Nature of Rural Schools: Trends, Perceptions and Values	p. 11
Rural Images	p. 13
Strengths of Rural Communities	p. 19
Home, Family, Community, Caring	p. 22
References	p. 22
"It's Deja Vu All Over Again": The Rural School Problem Revisited	p. 25
Finding the One Best System	p. 27
Discovering the Rural School Problem	p. 29
The Country Life Movement and Educational Reform	p. 31
The Rural Education Problem Redux	p. 37
The Irony of Modern School Reform	p. 41
People of Paradox	p. 53
Implications for Administrators	p. 54
References	p. 57
Rural Leadership: The View from the Top
The Rural School Board	p. 63
Critical Incidents: Superintendents	p. 65
Critical Incidents: Board Presidents	p. 68
Critical Issues in Rural Schools	p. 69
Strategies	p. 77
References	p. 78
The Rural Superintendent: Succeeding or Failing as a Superintendent in Rural Schools	p. 81
Failing in the Rural Superintendency	p. 84
Succeeding in the Rural Superintendency	p. 86
Surviving the Rural Superintendency	p. 90
Conclusion	p. 92
References	p. 93
Personnel and Human Resource Functions in the Rural School District: Some Insights and Directions	p. 95
A Picture of Human Resources	p. 99
Rural Education and the Personnel Function	p. 103
The Changing Rural School Scene	p. 107
References	p. 109
School Improvement	p. 111
Central Office Rural School Leadership	p. 113
Local School Leadership	p. 125
Conclusion	p. 133
References	p. 133
Web Sites	p. 134
Rural Site-Based Leadership
Leading Rural Schools: Building Relationships and Structures	p. 137
The Rural School Inferiority Complex	p. 137
Site-Based Management in Rural Schools	p. 140
Relationships with Community Members	p. 142
Creating Organizational Structures	p. 144
Pedagogy of Place: Building on the Unique Strengths of Rural Settings	p. 147
State Initiatives and Small, Rural Schools	p. 150
Thinking About Accepting a Rural School Principalship?	p. 154
Conclusion	p. 156
References	p. 156
Southern Schools, Southern Teachers: Redefining Leadership in Rural Communities	p. 157
Introduction	p. 157
Contextualizing the Conversation: The Significance of Rural Communities and Schools	p. 160
"Making the Familiar Strange and the Strange Familiar": Teaching and Leading in Rural Schools	p. 163
Teachers as Leaders	p. 165
Leading "Against the Grain"	p. 167
Reform and Its Relationship to Rural Schools: Redefining Leadership	p. 168
References	p. 171
Students are People, too	p. 173
Introduction	p. 173
The Rural Advantage	p. 175
Advantages and Reform	p. 176
Why Listen to Students?	p. 176
Democracy in Action	p. 177
Extracurricular Activities and Leadership Opportunities	p. 178
Discipline	p. 182
Student Voices in Curriculum and Content	p. 185
Conclusion	p. 186
References	p. 187
Leadership and Organizational Skills for Rural School Leaders
Rural Education: Leadership and Technology	p. 193
Introduction	p. 195
Administrative Perspectives	p. 198
Analysis--Breaking Down the Problem	p. 201
LEAP	p. 205
What Funding and Knowledge-Based Support Exists for Integrating Technology into Educational Practice?	p. 213
CROP	p. 215
Thinking and Linking	p. 216
Summary	p. 218
References	p. 218
Nobody is as Smart as all of us: Collaboration in Rural Schools	p. 221
Introduction	p. 221
Models/Levels of Collaboration	p. 223
How to Get Started	p. 224
Grant Writing in Rural Schools: Higher Education/LEA Collaboration	p. 227
Conclusion	p. 229
References	p. 229
School-Community Collaborative Vision Building: a Study of Two Rural Districts	p. 231
The District and the Community: District One	p. 235
The District and the Community: District Two	p. 238
Conclusion	p. 241
References	p. 241
Politics and Decision-Making: the Rural Scene	p. 243
The Historical Paradigms of Educational Politics	p. 245
The Legal Politics of Education in Rural Schools	p. 248
Local Politics in Rural Schools	p. 253
Extra-Legal Politics in Rural Schools	p. 257
Principles for the Principal and Other Significant Rural School Leaders	p. 260
References	p. 261
Assessing School District Quality: Contrasting State and Citizens' Perspectives	p. 263
Introduction	p. 263
Background	p. 267
Data and Methods	p. 268
Findings	p. 269
The Telephone Survey	p. 276
Discussion	p. 278
References	p. 284
Curriculum Needs for a Rural Native American Community	p. 287
The Eastern Cherokee: A Typical Indian School, and Indian Community	p. 287
Cultural Influence and Education in a Democratic Society	p. 290
Summary and Recommendations for Curriculum Development in Rural Indian Communities	p. 299
References	p. 301
Index	p. 303
About the Authors	p. 305
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