European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 03, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Poignant problem for the nation s rms Al by Joseph Berger new York times they May not Boas Tough Aruj Tumble As some of their Cit cousins and they certainly Don get As much Public attention but schools in the nation s Rural areas have their own Hatch of chronic problems. Rainy schools have too Lew students to Dollci advanced courses every year. Even if they Muster enough students there May not tie enough teach is in the Vicinity qualified in subjects like algebra trigonometry physics and chs misery in farm areas boys and girls find it hard to understand How education relates to the lives they ate Likely to Lead and Many founder textbooks arc often antiquated and Money for classroom supplies is scarce teachers forced to prepare lessons for children at several Grade Levels Lack the time to keep up to Date. Colleges and Libra is die often a Long drive away students Al Rural schools have All the Blo j rings thai come with smallness intimate classes teachers who understand their lives and school officials More directly accountable to parents in fact High school Dickout rates in largely Rural states Are less than those in Urban states the problem is How to Correct the drawbacks of smallness while retaining the blessings the problems of Rural schools received a fresh hearing at recent conferences where Rural educators expressed a desire that their plight not be overlooked by education experts and politicians a panel discussion was held in new Yolk at the annual meeting of the education commission of the states a Denver based organization that brings together governors legislators school superintendents and education experts. Another conference in Batavia. . Brought together 300 school Board members and administrators irom Rural districts in new York slate to discuss Mance dropout prevention poverty and migrant education. At a conference in Chicago speakers argued that Rural schools too Small to be effective should consolidate with neighbouring schools but the speakers agreed in sometimes fretful tones that this was a hard solution to impose on people fiercely devoted to the schools their patents and grandparents May have attended there has. In fact been enormous school consolidation in the last three decades. The number of Public elementary and secondary schools has steadily declined from 120.973 in 1957-58 to 83.248 in 1987-88 Over thai same 30-year Span enrolment grew from 32.951,000 to about 43 million in 1967 and 1977 and is now 40,024,000. Nevertheless said James c. Pehler a slate senator from Minnesota consolidation is the big  his voice conveyed the dread that legislators eel when they must persuade resistant constituent to consolidate it s a very emotional Issue agreed Robert w Cole ji., an Indiana writer who has studied Rural schools in an interview Serenus Holtner a state representative irom North Dakota recalled that a school in his stale s town of Church s ferry had just three students when the school Board decided to close the school and Send its students to a neighbouring town the people of Church s ferry elected a new Board that reopened the school Janice Nicolay. A state representative from South Dakota said her state had 29 schools with fewer than 50 students each in such schools when the football team leaves to play an opponent some classes must be cancelled she said. Indeed. The Only crisis that local voters olten consider acute enough to justify consolidation is a school s inability to Field a basketball or a football team panel members said. There Are still Many Small Rural schools. Figures from the Federal department of education for 1980 the latest available indicate that of the nation s 57,866 elementary schools 93 percent or almost 5.400, had fewer than 100 pupils. Of the 22,619 secondary schools. 97 percent or roughly 2.200, had fewer than 100 in 1987-88. The nation still had 729 schools with Only one teacher apiece schools in which the teacher had students whose Ages might Range from 6 to 16 three states. Nebraska. Montana and South Dakota had most of the one room schools. Much of the panel discussion entered on a report Given by Cole who spent a year visiting schools in South Dakota. Indiana Iowa. Michigan and Wisconsin and limited budgets coupled with a Lack of advanced skills teachers Are forcing Many Rural schools to lace the bloc consolidation. Is writing a Book on Rural education in classrooms he visited. Cole said teachers spend considerable time having children do Homework in class because they Don t have Faith that parents will prod their children to do it at Home. Or. John Sukowski executive director of Cornell University s Rural schools program said in a Telephone interview that it was hard to recruit teachers of specialized subjects like calculus foreign languages or advanced English to Rural schools because of the isolation from museums libraries and other cultural activities and because \ " by la. A " grown and ebbed. 7 men for fait of each r�4 Woon Dary Tafi Mcfev a a in  la a til thfllutanhft.1 Lex v to. J i a i i mini i i i ii i i n i 150 , a a is a a   46 30 a 20 10 v " Rudi. Taf a ? r a s a Kvek r vI100. -60 v salaries tended to be lower than Al Urban and suburban schools. Although some Small districts have High per Pupil expenditures so As to recruit enough teachers to meet state accreditation requirements Many schools make Urban districts look positively flush. Philip t. Warner a state representative from Indiana sad some Rural schools in his state had a per Pupil expenditure As Tow As $1,200. The state has had to Supply Money to bring such schools up to the $2,600 floor required by stale Law. One technology that is offering Relief in Rural schools that do not have Access to teachers of specialized subjects is satellite television. Students can take an algebra class beamed in from afar and with two Way technology ask questions of the teacher. But Cole said this approach could be very expensive and in still requires a teacher to supervise students. Nicolay a teacher for 20 years and now the principal of a High school in Sioux Falls. S.d., said South Dak olans were not Overly enamoured of new technology and research in schools. The Paramount principle in Rural areas she said is local control a Don t Tell us what to do attitude. That attitude she suggested sometimes seems justified by the apparent ignorance that some Federal programs display about Rural life. A Federal anti drug program for which South Dakota was eligible designated a portion of the Money for teen age gang related activities. South Dakota has no gangs Nicolay said. Just like their Urban counterparts Rural schools have children from troubled Homes. Many children have Only a single Parent at Home and even two Parent families May be indigent and poorly educated. But policy makers Seldom think of Rural children As being at risk and Seldom devise programs for them. Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday september 3,1989