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New Study Finds Inadequacies in Rural Texas Schools
 A new report from the Rural School and Community Trust, Teachers and Teaching Conditions in Rural Texas, reveals a number of areas of significant deficiencies as it examines the characteristics of the teaching environment and the teacher corps in rural Texas schools-where almost half a million students go to school each day. Compared either to non-rural districts in Texas or to rural districts nationwide, rural Texas districts have: a higher teacher turnover rate; a higher percentage of new teachers hired at the last minute; a higher incidence of out-of-field teaching assignments; and notably lower teacher and principal salaries. However, there is good news: rural educators in Texas report a high level of job satisfaction, despite facing challenging conditions and student populations that include large numbers of children in poverty, migrants, and students with limited English proficiency. The study uses over 100 indicators in four gauges: characteristics of rural students and communities; characteristics of the current educator corps; selected conditions in rural schools that can be modified by policy; and teacher professional development. The report offers 19 recommendations for state-level action that address the deficiencies of rural schools in Texas and help ensure that the half a million rural students in Texas will no longer be underserved or left behind. Read the full report (PDF, 1.4M) Contacts: Lorna Jimerson, author and Rural Trust policy staff at (802) 425-2497 or Lorna.Jimerson@ruraledu.org Marty Strange, Rural Trust policy director at (802) 728-4383 or Marty.Strange@ruraledu.org Alison Yaunches, Rural Trust interim director of communications at (703) 243-1487 or Alison.Yaunches@ruraledu.org Events | Services | Newsroom | Contact Us | Search © 2003 The Rural School and Community Trust 
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