Lessons Learned from Rural Schools - Alabama Department of ...

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LLS-0010 Lessons Learned_Pub.qrk: 4/25/09 3:02 PM Page 10 10 On the other hand, the latter strategy means parents respond less quickly to learning difficulties and are less aggressive with school officials. They are less likely to verbally interact with their children and are less involved with homework. Lareau’s work is detailed in her book, Unequal Childhoods. Life has never been easy in rural Alabama, whether someone was on one end of a crosscut saw deep in the woods of Clarke County, chopping cotton in Cherokee County or sewing collars on shirts in Geneva County. And while we no longer use crosscut saws, chop cotton or sew very few collars, as the numbers above show vividly, life can still be difficult in rural communities. Understanding this in its totality is critical to how we approach the education of the children of rural Alabama. And nowhere is the phrase, “one size does not fit all” more appropriate than when education policymakers convene. The Center For Rural Alabama • (334) 240-7272
LLS-0010 Lessons Learned_Pub.qrk: 4/25/09 3:02 PM Page 11 Education is More Than Paper & Pencils By Larry Lee It’s easy to understand why the city of Auburn has an excellent school system. After all, education is the economy there. For example, while 21 percent of all the people 25 years or older in the state have a college degree, 56 percent of those in Auburn do. In other words, the Auburn community has a strong education foundation where staying in school and going to college is not an option--it is expected. It’s no wonder that only seven other school systems provide more local funding per student that Auburn does. But Arley ain’t Auburn. Nor is it Dutton, Phil Campbell, Fruithurst, Marion, Pine Hill, Lockhart, Huxford, Gilbertown or Mount Vernon. Which makes the success of their schools all the more impressive. In the opinion of many education leaders, what happens outside the classroom in the form of “community involvement” may be as important as what goes on in the classroom. But “involvement” is greatly impacted by “community.” Or maybe we should say the circumstances surrounding the community. Wrights Mill Road Elementary in Auburn has had 100 percent participation in PTA for the last 21 years. This is a school of 421 students. By comparison, the PTO of one of the schools in this study (with a few students more than Wrights Mill Road) has only 12 members. But if it’s commonplace for someone in a rural community to drive an hour to work each day, then the time left over to go to PTO meetings--or to work with a child on homework--is limited. So what might be considered community involvement in one place might be something far different in another place. It’s all about understanding that resources in rural communities are much scarcer than in larger communities. It has nothing to do with the desire of parents to see that their children succeed or the hope of a local Lessons Learned from Rural Schools – May 2009 mayor that their school will provide an excellent education. In fact, it’s rather remarkable that some of these communities provide as much support as they do. At Huxford Elementary, the PTO pays the monthly rent on office equipment, buys office supplies and raised $34,000 for playground equipment. The Dutton School PTO bought a $4,000 laminator and lockers for the middle school. In Phil Campbell, a PTO with only a handful of members raises about $10,000 annually. They have bought chairs for classrooms, put in heating and air conditioning and built a snack area. And while getting your arms around something as intangible as “community involvement” is like trying to grasp a handful of morning mist, it is obvious that all of these schools work to encourage support from both the community at-large and the parents of students. “One thing is certain,” says Jacqui James, principal at Southern Choctaw Elementary in Gilbertown, “we need community support.” Here are some of the guiding principles these ten schools focus on in building support: Create a culture of expectations Visit one of these schools and it doesn’t take long to realize that “there is something in the air” at each of them. You discover this in many ways, from how clean bathrooms are, to colorful posters lining the hallways, to a cheery greeting from office staff, to smiles on the faces of first-graders lined up to go to lunch. Then you come to understand that central to all of these outward signs is a culture of expectations for both students and staff. “Our mission,” says one principal, “is to teach our students--and not just math or reading or science. We also teach discipline, responsibility, how to treat one another, right from wrong and to do the best that you can.” This is explained to some degree by the findings of Gerald Carter that the majority of teachers in 11
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Lessons Learned from Rural Schools - Alabama Department of ...

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