From the ECS State Policy Database: Rural - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Why Rural Matters 2011-12: The Condition of Rural Education in the 50 States - Why Rural Matters 2011-12 is the sixth in a series of biennial reports analyzing the contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states and calling attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues in their respective states....

Table 4: Number of Regular Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts, By Student Membership Size and State or Jurisdiction: School Year 2009-10 - Number of small districts, by state. Table from the Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Local Education Agencies From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2009-10 (National Center for Education Statistics, May 2011)...

Table 3. Number of Regular Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts, by Grade Span and State of Jurisdiction: School Year 2009-10 - Table displays districts by grade span. Data from the Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Local Education Agencies From the Common Core of Data: School Year 2009-10. (National Center for Education Statistics, May 2011)...

Table 5. Percentage Distribution of Students in Membership in Regular Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts with Membership, by Student Membership Size and State - Table by percentage of student membership in small districts. Data included in the Numbers and Types of Public Elementary and Secondary Local Education Agencies from the Common Core of Data: School Year 2009-10. (National Center for Education Statistics, May 2011)...

The Rural Solution: How Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education - This report addresses the potential of the community school movement to concentrate supports and resources in low-wealth rural schools and build the kind of community-school partnerships that help children, their families, the school and the community succeed and thrive. The paper also includes profiles of three communities that have applied the concept in their schools. (Center for American Progress, September 2010)...

Why Rural Matters 2009: State and Regional Challenges and Opportunities - This is the fifth in a biennial series analyzing the contexts and conditions of rural education in each of the states and calling attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues in their respective states. (Jerry Johnson and Marty Strange, The Rural School and Community Trust, January 2010)...

Higher Education in Michigan: Overcoming Challenges to Expand Access - This study focuses on three geographically diverse areas of Michigan: a suburban county, a large city, and six rural counties in the northeastern Lower Peninsula. Some consistent patterns were found: (1)The state's residents have found it increasingly difficult to succeed with a college degree; (2) It is extremely important to expand access to postsecondary education for the state's economic future; (3) In all three areas examined, barriers make it difficult for low-income and minority residents to earn a college degree. Recommendations include addressing college access at the state level; establish better and new relationships between two- and four-year institutions; develop better transportation systems; and expand healthcare and medical training to position Michigan as a leader in the industry. (Alisa Cunningham, Wendy Erisman and Shannon Loney, Institute for Higher Education Policy, March 2008)...