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The Crossroad of Challenge and Opportunity in Fiscally Stressed Schools and Communities. John W. Sipple, PhD Associate Professor NYS Center for Rural Schools ( NYRuralSchools.org ) Community and Regional Development Institute Cornell University North Country Symposium , April 2013.
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The Crossroad of Challenge and Opportunity in Fiscally Stressed Schools and Communities John W. Sipple, PhD Associate Professor NYS Center for Rural Schools (NYRuralSchools.org) Community and Regional Development Institute Cornell University North Country Symposium, April 2013
Stimulate a discussion of opportunity in an era of challenge • Share insight from recent research on the interface between schools and the communities they serve. • Offer a view of schools linked to communities • Offer tools & ideas: Immediate and long-range. My Goals
Schools Communities • Communities Schools • When did Schools and Communities become separate? • What are key Policies/Programs? • What should WE do? Central Questions
1910 - Administrative Progressives • 1953 - US Dept. of Health, Education & Welfare • 1979 • US Dept. of Education • US Dept. of Health and Human Services A bit of History
Opportunity Assets Nutrition Health The Real World?
A new perspective Shonkoff et al (2012). Pediatrics.
Early care and UPK • District Consolidation/School Closure • Curriculum (Local vs. Common Core) • Teacher Hiring • Teacher Quality (APPR) • Revenues? Expenditures? • Each of these shapes schools and communities Key Policy Levers (e.g.)
PAD County Profile (Pad.human.cornell.edu)
Ability to Levy Tax $20/$1000 = $20,000/pupil
A school is vital to the survival of rural communities. • Viable villages generally contain schools: dying and dead ones either lack them or do not have them for long. • The capacity to maintain a school is a continuing indicator of a community's wellbeing. • School district consolidation has deleterious effects on small rural communities. Lyson Hypothesis
Teacher Labor Markets Killeen, Loeb & Williams (2013)
Easy access to Data – Tools (NYRuralSchools.org) • Informed Local Decision making • Local and Regional Analysis and Planning • Demographics & Enrollment • Financial Planning/Scenarios • District Reorganization Analysis • Public Participation and Communication Next Steps – What to do?
Market forces • Competition and Access • Technology • MOOCs • Public Good • Utilitarian/Professional vs. Academic Universities and Higher Ed