Increase use of community volunteers for nonteaching duties. Rural schools are also community schools. Getting help from volunteers to perform nonteaching duties frees up time for staffs who probably are already overburdened and saves money for the district in some areas. Extracurricular Activities Pay teachers a supplemental salary to perform extracurricular duties. Supplemental pay rarely equals the teacher s regular rate, but the additional money is appreciated, and it conveys value for the teacher s time.
Students benefit greatly from the extracurricular activities in a small rural school.
Provide students with transportation to participate in after-school activities. Rural districts often have students who must travel long distances to get to the school. An activity bus that runs on a scheduled route after school throughout the district enables many students to participate without placing a hardship on their families. Allow students to participate at other schools in the district. Small rural schools find it difficult to offer a wide range of sports for boys and girls, and some schools may not have enough students to even support a sports program.