Without the drama of guns and gangs, the popular
media usually leave rural education in a time warp of little red
schoolhouses and outdated textbooks. But rural schools, which house
one-quarter of the nation’s students and teachers, turned decades
ago to interdisciplinary studies, multi-grade classrooms and
community- based learning – all “innovations’ being introduced in
urban schools. To support these achievements, philanthropist Walter
Annenberg will spend $50 million over the next five years to launch
a “sustainable rural-school reform movement” organizers call the
Annenberg Rural Challenge. The plan is to identify model rural
schools based on their commitment to both the students and the
community. These schools will use funds to help other rural schools
through partnerships and joint projects, until reform “spreads like
an amoeba,” says Challenge director Paul Nachtigal. An initial
group has been selected that includes two Native American schools,
one in Alaska and another in Arizona. The next step, says
Nachtigal, is for regional offices to find matching funds. Contact
the Annenberg Rural Challenge, P.O. Box 1546, Granby, CO
80446.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Revving up rural schools.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
