Educational Leadership Commons^™

Section Vii: Staff Development And Rural Schools: Ways And Means [Pruin], Harold Pruin

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

I will relate my position on the state of staff development in rural schools from the perspective of my past experience, what is happening now, and what may be in the future.

My twenty-one years in eight different rural schools in Iowa have seen staff development change from lip service only to a present scramble of sorting through the maze of where to go from here. Starting in 1967, staff development was a day in Des Moines when all teachers in the state attended the ISEA Convention at Vet's Auditorium. As a rookie principal, I remember working with the superintendent …

Section Iii: Effective Rural Schools: What We Know, What We Need To Know [Miller], Lannie Miller

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Iowans are vitally interested in providing a quality education program for all its youth. This commitment is expressed through the state's financial support for education. Total operating budgets for K-12 public schools are approaching $1.5 billion. This is a major commitment. As a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) Board of Directors, I know that the Association's primary interest is to assure a quality education program for students in our elementary and secondary schools. In this spirit the IASB Board of Directors adopted this mission statement:

The Iowa Association of School Boards is an organization of elected …

Section Vi: Redesigning Iowa Rural Schools: Sharing, Restructuring Or Consolidating: Introduction

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

As a group of public school educators, university professors, parents and interested citizens sat together for three days to discuss redesigning of Iowa rural schools, it was evident that this was not going to be an easy task. Many, many issues were discussed and how they impacted the recent (renewed) interest in redesigning Iowa rural schools. As one participant indicated, "School restructuring is much more than an educational issue. It addresses the very social fabric of rural Iowa or possibly the entire state .... " Conference participants who had an interest in the restructuring segment of the conference held strong …

Section Vii: Staff Development And Rural Schools: Ways And Means [Caldwell], Richard Caldwell

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Rural schools, such as Lohrville, are as committed to the achievement of academic excellence for its students as any urban school. Therefore, it is very important for every rural school in Iowa to provide a quality staff development program for its teaching staff. At one time it was thought that teaching was an art and you could either do it or you couldn't. However, there are too many studies showing that teaching is not necessarily an art, and with proper instruction all teachers can increase their effectiveness in the classroom. Since 1972, several of these studies and research projects have …

Cover - Front Matter - Table Of Contents

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

No abstract provided.

Rural Education In Iowa: A Collection Of Papers [Complete Monograph]

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No abstract provided.

Conference Keynote Address: Urban Chauvinism And Rural Values, Keigh Hubel

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It's really a privilege for a country boy to be here at UNI talking to such a distinguished group. Let me take a few minutes to let you know about my roots. I was born and raised in a small Minnesota community of less than 500 - graduated in 1950 in a class of 16. In my home town I know all of the dogs by first name and they wagged their tails when I greeted them. In third grade, I also knew all of the local heroes and they knew me. For fun we pulled some pranks like anyone …

Section Ii: Curriculum Diversity In Rural Iowa: Quality And Equity Issues: Introduction

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

In the ongoing discussions on rural education in Iowa and nationwide, school size is the key issue since it directly affects program quality. The authors of the papers in this section present issues on the ability of rural schools to provide diversity in curricular offerings in light of inadequate student numbers due to declining enrollments and teacher shortages. When this occurs, the question of quality surfaces and the consequences impacting the curriculum is addressed by one of the authors. Conversely, one of the papers considers in detail the implications of the new state standards for rural schools, and proposes that …

Section Ii: Curriculum Diversity In Rural Iowa: Quality And Equity Issues [Albrecht], James E. Albrecht

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

One of the obstacles which confront those who speak about rural education is the blurring of focus which often occurs before the conversation has progressed very far or, in some cases, even begun. Typically, that problem arises essentially from an inability (or unwillingness) to agree upon what schools are for.

"Curriculum" calls us back, however, to things at the center -the educational program and its attendant challenges. That, in turn, reminds us that what schools are for is providing quality educational experiences for youngsters. It should also remind us that schools are not for keeping towns alive, for bringing business …

Section Ii: Curriculum Diversity In Rural Iowa: Quality And Equity Issues [Clinefelter], Dave Clinefelter

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Iowa's schools are being "railroaded." On one level, they're being gotten rid of on false charges. Small schools are being closed on the charges of inefficiency and inequity. At another level, school officials and leaders are being seduced by the same narrow vision that killed the railroads. Our monopoly is so entrenched and we feel so "right" that we're missing some fundamental changes. The current debate hinges on the issue of equity and equality in the curriculum.

Section Ii: Curriculum Diversity In Rural Iowa: Quality And Equity Issues [Litts], Stephen Litts

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

During the past several legislative sessions in Iowa, school reorganization has been the underlying force behind several "school reform" bills. Although everyone involved seemed to avoid the open discussion and use of the term "reorganization," legislative initiatives have produced recommendations for sweeping New Standards which included the following demands on all school districts.

Section Iii: Effective Rural Schools: What We Know, What We Need To Know: Introduction

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

What we know is what we want. We want students who are becoming the kind of people we value in our home and global communities. For us, these are persons who respect themselves and are respected by others. They are good citizens and are economically self-sufficient. They have both a sense of heritage and a vision for the future. They set and achieve goals that serve their own well-being as well as the well-being of their various communities. Self-esteem, constructive citizenship, and productivity are the student outcomes that for us indicate effective schools.

Section Iii: Effective Rural Schools: What We Know, What We Need To Know [Keller], Evelyn Keller

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

There seems to be many changes taking place in education throughout the country. Everyone has taken it upon themselves to achieve excellence in education. The changes are from thoughts of reorganization, setting higher standards and to open enrollment.

What we do know is that education in Iowa must be very good when it can consistently rank number one or two when compared with other school systems throughout the country. Iowa students rank at the top of college entrance exams and ranked first in the American College Testing Program (ACT) and first and second in the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).

There …

Section Iii: Effective Rural Schools: What We Know, What We Need To Know [Pasut], James Pasut

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Rural education in Iowa has qualities that make it unique. In the early years after Iowa became a state in 1846, the parents were fully responsible for the education of their children but gradually the state took over this responsibility. In taking over this responsibility, the administrators and teachers were given the power of "loco parentis," (i.e., we stand in the place of the parent). As a result of this power, the schools have inherited vast responsibilities in many educational areas, some wanted and some unwanted. We now offer many services that the home should be responsible for in providing …

Section Iii: Effective Rural Schools: What We Know, What We Need To Know [Westerberg], Steve Westerberg

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

What do we know about effective rural schools? The litmus test for determining effective rural schools is the same test used to identify those larger urban schools that are best at maximizing student learning. Whether a student hails from a less populous region or lives in the heart of the largest city, effective schools research has shown the factors of good schools are all the same.

Schools that possess teachers having high expectations of student learning, that implement mastery learning techniques, that conduct classrooms that are warm, convivial and safe places to be, and that challenge students of all ability …

Section Iv: Financing Rural Education In Iowa: Introduction

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The papers in this section address the issues of equity, quality and efficiency with respect to rural schools in Iowa. One author asserts that finance formulas should include a sparsity index, and provides clarity to the terms of equity for both students and taxpayers. A number of proposals are made in other papers for a new state funding formula to include: (1) incentives to move toward 170-180 cost efficient units; (2) equal dollars for educational programming; and (3) the recognition of local factors such as sparsity, geography, and topography. In addition, a proposal is made to determine those programs which …

Section Iv: Financing Rural Education In Iowa [Daggett], Horace Daggett

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

This paper will focus on the funding dynamics of schools with an average daily attendance under 1,000 students. There are 329 school districts in Iowa under 1,000 students, with 104 school districts above 1,000 students. In general, this will include county seat towns and counties with less than 10,000 population and all other rural school districts.

Current data shows the combined budgets for school districts under 1,000 totals $582,964,066, while the total combined budgets for schools over 1,000 is $1,163,076,866. Seventy-six percent of Iowa's school districts (329) spend 33 percent of the total amount of money spent on K-12 education …

Section Iv: Financing Rural Education In Iowa [Mcintosh], Juanita Mcintosh

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

As we look to the 1990's the needs and problems of funding education in rural Iowa and urban Iowa are very much alike. The financing of education should be kept as simple as possible; especially in rural schools where the Superintendent is inundated with forms and paper work.

Each student should be equally funded, no matter the size of the school district. Actual enrollment numbers should be used to determine each school district's regular program budget. State aid should be the same amount per pupil no matter in which district the student resides. The same amount of property tax, not …

Section Iv: Financing Rural Education In Iowa [Sasseen], Keith Sasseen

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

It would appear Iowans are caught in the dilemma of weighing alternatives to finance their schools. Many conflicts need resolution as decisions are being made as to what to finance as well as how to finance the rural schools. Changing demographics since the highlife of the late 1970's are quickly being brought into public focus because of the repeal of the current school funding formula of the 1987, 72nd General Assembly. The effect of this action through H.F. 499 was to 'sunset' the present Foundation program June 30, 1991 and to cause the enactment of a new program of school …

Section V: Meeting Student Needs In Rural Education: Introduction

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Meeting student needs in rural education requires the preservation of some sense of continuity as we contend with change and uncertainty in the decades to come. Whether urban or rural, change will continue to occur and the ultimate goal of education must focus on the student.

Section V: Meeting Student Needs In Rural Education [Crandell], Paul Crandell

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The needs identified in this position paper are the needs that apply to rural students only. Rural students, without a doubt, share many other needs common to all students across the state of Iowa. Before student needs can be met, they need to be identified. A locally developed needs assessment instrument would be an excellent way to identify the needs of students in a particular school district. The listing of needs that follows should not be considered inclusive.

Section V: Meeting Student Needs In Rural Education [Ranney], Edward Ranney

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Equitable access to educational opportunity is becoming more complex as Iowa's demographics continues to rapidly change. In 1987, one public school district graduated two students, one district graduated five students, two districts graduated seven students, one district graduated eight students and two districts graduated nine students. Sixty-one school districts graduated classes with less than twenty students. The largest school district graduated a class of approximately 1850 students.

There are rural school districts with limited numbers of students. Iowa presently has 56 school districts involved in whole-grade sharing agreements. There are projected for the 1989-90 school year, 84 districts in the …

Section V: Meeting Student Needs In Rural Education [Von Arb], Jan Van Arb

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Rural students in the 90's will probably continue to experience losses and changes in their assumptions about rural life, their communities, local institutions, their families, and their futures. In all likelihood, structural changes in rural communities will continue at an accelerated pace because of the financial losses experienced during the farm crisis. The ability to fund local services through the local tax base has been eroded by the agricultural losses and the migration of the rural population. It does not appear that funding from other sources will be available to make up for those losses. As a result, one of …

Section Vi: Redesigning Iowa Rural Schools: Sharing, Restructuring Or Consolidating [Boyles], Norman Boyles

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

With the restructuring process still a factor in all of the states, certain states are more attuned to some or all of the problems indicated by Knezevich. Iowa faces the problems of reorganization, restructuring or school district change (whatever one chooses to call it) because of two immediate factors: 1) declining enrollments in almost all areas of the state and 2) the fact that the state funding plan is tied directly to the number of students in each district. Because of these two factors and the additional element that the state legislature controls the local districts resources for education through …

Section Vi: Redesigning Iowa Rural Schools: Sharing, Restructuring Or Consolidating [Ghan], Guy Ghan

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The purpose of this School District Restructuring Report is to summarize the restructuring activities of 1987, chronicle the restructuring events for future reference, and analyze problems that developed during the year. This report, which has been produced annually for many years, is normally a more routine data based summary of events. However, an analysis of the events that took place during 1987 leads to the conclusion that a different style of writing is necessary if future generations are to use the Department's annual report to gain a true understanding of the large-scale changes that are taking place.

Section Vi: Redesigning Iowa Rural Schools: Sharing, Restructuring Or Consolidating [Jones], Claudia Jones

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Iowa has experienced a dramatic decline in students in public schools over the last 20 years. Rural Iowa in the 80's has suffered a severe economic crisis. These facts have created a situation that only those of us who live in rural Iowa can completely comprehend. We now have to deal with declining enrollment accompanied by rising fixed costs. Another factor that we have not had to confront in the past has to do with the higher poverty level in rural Iowa. That combined with more one parent homes has given us an increased number of at-risk students-something that has …

Section Vi: Redesigning Iowa Rural Schools: Sharing, Restructuring Or Consolidating [Meyer], Alan Meyer

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The process for the redesigning of the Elementary and Secondary Schools of Rural Iowa has been going full bore for five years now. Encouragement in the form of legislation, financial incentives and mandated administrative rules have created a flurry of activity in rural Iowa that is unprecedented since the early 60's. The impetus for this flux has been the notion that too many administrative units exist in relation to the numbers of students being served in 1988 as compared to 1976. The outflow of families that has occurred since 1976 has caused a readjustment of state deliveries in many areas …

Section Vii: Staff Development And Rural Schools: Ways And Means: Introduction

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The papers written in this section discussed both preservice and inservice staff development. They covered the need for, as well as concerns about, staff development. Descriptions of programs which have been implemented were written about, and suggestions based on staff development literature were posited. This introductory statement is a summary of the group discussion in which the writers of these papers participated. The members of the group decided to look for the major themes found in the papers. The two themes which emerged were: a) elements of effective staff development in rural schools and b) the concerns about staff development …

Section Vii: Staff Development And Rural Schools: Ways And Means [Bowman], Andrea Bowman

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

Staff development is generally viewed as a moderately structured "event" which occurs in an actual contracted teaching situation. Staff development can also be seen as a pre-service "event." The focus of this paper is on the staff development which occurred during a student teaching experience at Green Mountain School.

The setting in which student teachers are placed generally determines the kinds of settings for which they will best be prepared. Following that logic, any setting can be somewhat limiting. A primary consideration is whether the limitations imposed by student teaching in only one setting become a liability to student teachers. …

Section Vii: Staff Development And Rural Schools: Ways And Means [Heilman], Marilyn Heilmand

Institute for Educational Leadership Monograph Series

The need for staff development that would improve teacher effectiveness and increase student learning is a universal need for school districts in Iowa. The need in rural districts is especially critical because of the existing danger of low morale among staff members. News reports about the so-called inferior quality of "small" schools probably contribute to this attitude. The pressure to meet pending state standards can be overwhelming to small staffs in rural communities and also may be a contributor to the morale problem. Limited funds have been a factor in the lack of appropriate staff development that could counter-act the …