Evaluation of the Implementation of the Rural and Low-Income School Program: Final Report
Author: Magill, Kathleen
Date: 2010-06-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Strategic Planning,School Activities,Curriculum Evaluation,Federal Programs,Quality Control,Technical Assistance,Low Income,Rural Areas,Disadvantaged Schools,Academic Achievement,Federal Legislation,Teacher Recruitment,Teacher Persistence,School Districts,Program Descriptions,Financial Support,Educational Finance,Parent Participation,Professional Development,Grants,Eligibility,Interviews,Surveys,Guides,Accountability,Program Evaluation,Program Implementation,Educational Technology,Outcomes of Education

The Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program is part of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) that was authorized under Title VI, Part B of the &quot;Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965&quot; (&quot;ESEA&quot;), as amended by the &quot;No Child Left Behind Act of 2001&quot; (&quot;NCLB&quot;). The RLIS program provides additional funds to help rural districts serving low-income students make adequate yearly progress (AYP) as described in Section 1111(b)(2) of the &quot;ESEA&quot;. RLIS funds may be used to support a variety of activities, including teacher recruitment and retention; teacher professional development; support for educational technology; parental involvement activities; activities authorized under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program; and activities authorized under Title I, Part A, and Title III of the &quot;ESEA&quot;. RLIS funds are distributed to state education agencies, which then distribute money to the school districts that meet the following criteria: (a) the district is not eligible for a grant from the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program, which serves rural school districts that have fewer than 600 students or that serve extremely sparsely populated areas; (b) 20 percent or more of the children ages 5 through 17 served by the district are from families with incomes below the poverty line; and (c) all of the schools included in the district must have a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) locale code of 6 (small town), 7 (rural), or 8 (rural near an urban area). The RLIS program distributed almost $86 million to 41 states in the 2009-10 school year. In turn, the states distributed RLIS funds to 1,497 districts. Award amounts in 2009-10 averaged approximately $57,000 per district and $29 per pupil in RLIS-funded districts. This report includes findings from interview and survey data obtained from state and district RLIS coordinators who were selected for the interview or survey samples based on their state or district's receipt of RLIS funds for the 2007-08 school year. It describes state and district implementation of the RLIS program, priorities for RLIS funds, and RLIS district characteristics. It also includes results from an analysis of extant data at the state and district levels on student achievement outcomes from state assessments used for &quot;NCLB&quot; accountability. Appendices include: (1) Supporting Data for Chapter 3; (2) Student Achievement Technical Appendix; (3) State Coordinator Interview Guide; (4) District Coordinator Interview Guide; (5) RLIS State Coordinator Survey; and (6) RLIS District Coordinator Survey. (Contains 76 exhibits and 13 footnotes.) [For &quot;Evaluation of the Implementation of the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) Program: Interim Report,&quot; see ED517416.]