Rural District Systems for Improvement: A Call to Action

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership and Policy in Rural Education: Navigating Challenges and Enhancing Systems (Table 9)

Abstract

A strong need exists to better understand how rural districts might organize to not only improve outcomes for students but to do so rapidly and in a way that proves sustainable. Using an exploratory case-study approach, I conducted a two-year study of how a rural district organized for the continuous improvement of its schools. My findings suggest that a rural district may organize for the improvement of its schools by adopting a clear theory of action or model to define improvement-focused interactions with its schools, enacting boundary infrastructure, and engaging in spiraled improvement cycles.

Author

• Cindy Ward, ONWARD Education Consulting