This fully sponsored year-long fellowship is for current and aspiring school leaders working in rural communities. RSLA participants engage with a supportive and inspirational cohort of leaders from across the country. Participants deepen the skills necessary to amplify and sustain their work in rural education. You can learn more about the program and access the application on our website and we welcome nominations. You can reach out to the RSLA team at RSLA@teachforamerica.org.

STRENGTHENING RURAL ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS: FEDERAL POLICY SOLUTIONS FOR RURAL PUBLIC COLLEGES AND THE COMMUNITIES THEY SERVE

This policy report highlights the importance of public colleges in rural communities, while also demonstrating how COVID-19 threatens their contributions unless policymakers act swiftly to support them. We examined a group of 118 rural public colleges throughout the United States that fulfill their anchor institution role by fostering access to college, supporting local economies, addressing critical workforce shortages, and contributing to public health infrastructure.

DEFINING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A RURAL-SERVING POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTION

There is limited research on rural-serving postsecondary institutions. However, these institutions are essential to the educational opportunities of rural students and the vitality of rural communities. One barrier to research is the absence of an evidence-based definition of what it means to be a “rural-serving institution.” This project will develop a definition for rural-serving institutions and a range of publicly available data products and tools to promote research about these critical institutions.

Research Articles—Reports of empirical research that address problems of practice in rural education

Promising Practice Articles—In-depth descriptions of educational practices that have shown promise to support teaching and learning in rural education

Policy Briefs—updates on national and state policy of importance to rural educators written by the editors and/or invited guest columnists

Resource material on budget reconciliation:

Introduction to Budget Reconciliation – Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Budget Reconciliation: The Basics – House Budget Committee

The Budget Reconciliation Process: Stages of Consideration - Congressional Research Service

The Budget Reconciliation Process: The Senate’s “Byrd” Rule - Congressional Research Service

Budget Reconciliation Measures Enacted into Law: 1980-2017 - Congressional Research Service