Rural Sites Network Resources
Featured Resources
Why Rural Matters 2011-2012: The Condition of Rural Education in the 50 States
Rural School and Community Trust Policy Program,
February 2012
This sixth report in a biennial research series by the Rural School and Community Trust Policy Program explores the "conditions of rural education in each of the 50 states and call[s] attention to the need for policymakers to address rural education issues in their respective states."
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Book Review: Storytelling for Social Justice
January 2011
Erin Wilkey
Lee Anne Bell introduces the Storytelling Project model, a compelling antiracist curriculum designed to enable reflective and critical conversations about race and racism by examining the stories we tell.
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Indian Education for All: Grounded in Place and Culture
May 2010
Paul Epstein
In Maine and Montana, Writing Project sites are exploring how to help teachers implement state laws regarding Indian education and improve the writing of Native American learners.
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Additional Resources
Resilience: Overcoming Adversity and Thriving
October 2009
The resources collected here illustrate approaches to teaching and curriculum that support the power of resilience for young people striving to learn in adverse situations.
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Writing Improves African American Students' Grades
Science Daily,
January 2010
This article describes research that supports the claim that targeted psychological intervention, in the form of writing that encourages self-affirmation, has the effect of improving the academic performance of African American students.
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Book Review: Why School? Reclaiming Education for All of Us
February 2010
Tanya N. Baker
Reviewer Tanya Baker describes Mike Rose's book as a way toward restarting "a public conversation about the hopeful vision, the possibility, inherent in our nation's public schools."
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Rural Leaders, Rural Places: Problem, Privilege, and Possibility
May 2008
Kathleen Budge
Kathleen Budge reveals the disconnect between educators' feelings of privilege residing in a rural community and problems they see for their students in these communities. She calls for "critical leadership of place" based on awareness of this paradox.
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Honoring Dialect and Culture: Pathways to Student Success on High-Stakes Writing Assessments
English Journal,
March 2007
Michelle Crotteau
When a speaker of Appalachian English fails the state's writing assessment, Michelle Crotteau, a teacher-consultant with the Central Virginia Writing Project, demonstrates that appropriate strategies and respect for home language allows for both authentic writing and successful test preparation.
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Bibliography: Whiteness Studies
May 2008
This bibliography lists some key texts for those wishing to know more about the antiracist agenda of whiteness studies, which recognizes the need to identify "white" as a racialized category and challenges whiteness as a powerful symbol of privilege.
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Lee Anne Bell Counters the "Stock Stories" of Race and Racism
January 2011
Art Peterson
Lee Anne Bell will be a different kind of storyteller at the 2011 Rural Sites Network Conference. She will discuss how she examines and categorizes stories about race and racism in order to create what she calls "transformative stories."
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Definition of Writing Shifting, Maine Teacher Says
Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning,
November 2010
Students of Dave Boardman, Maine Writing Project teacher-consultant, are using video, music, and various multimedia to reimagine the very meaning of reading and writing.
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Book Review: Belonging: A Culture of Place
March 2010
Paul Epstein
Finding lessons on the politics of race, class, and belonging that can inform teachers in rural writing projects, Paul Epstein, co-director of the Central West Virginia Writing Project, reviews and recommends bell hooks' book Belonging: A Culture of Place.
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Family Matters: A Mother and Daughter’s Literacy Journey
November 2009
Amy Clark
Born into a family that thrived on literacy, Amy Clark, director of the Appalachian Writing Project, recounts the challenges of assuming the role of writing mentor to a person she could not have imagined—her mother.
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