The Story of One Rural School District: A Case Study for Building Success in Iowa’s Rural Schools

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Place, Community, and Equity: Engaging Schools, Families, and Universities in Rural Learning

Abstract

This project examines the qualitative and quantitative data from O-M Middle-High School in order to develop a case study that will tell their story before it disappears. It is our hope that O-M’s story can provide a pathway for replicating their success through the creation of opportunities, such as educational policy, professional development, curriculum development, and/or administrative support, in order to help rural school districts across the state of Iowa to “invest in futuring for education and education research” (AERA CFP, 2025, p. 2). Our findings will help to better understand how leadership and support from the community can help identify approaches to addressing recruitment and retention of teachers and leadership in rural communities in Iowa related to educational funding policy.

Authors

• Erika L. Bass, University of Northern Iowa

• Vicki Oleson, University of Northern Iowa