It was formed in 1990 by a rural education study committee interested in the role community-based education plays in the cultural, civic, and economic development or rural communities. A number of research papers are also included on this website taht might be of use to those studying rural education. The Rural Challenge's mission is to promote school reform agendas that fit rural places.
Schools are extractive in many rural communities.
They educate young people to leave, fulfilling the prophecy that rural places are doomed to poverty, decline, and despair. Schools have been the enemy of community in other ways as well. They have become disconnected by ignoring their place, their physical, cultural, and social settings. Community has become invisible, schooling focused exclusively on individual benefit, and school reform driven by outside forces. Research, analytic, and policy decision support collaboration has been developed with an extensive national network of rural policy analysts and practitioners.