A major challenge for public primary and secondary education in the U.S. in recent decades has been the persistence of the achievement gap. Most studies have couched the gap in terms of race, income, or suburb versus inner city. Very few have examined the gap that exists between rural and urban areas. The unique problems that rural schools face in bridging the achievement gap—especially in terms of quality teacher recruitment and retention—are much less known.
The public school system of Kentucky provides a valuable opportunity to fill this void and to address the Spencer Foundation’s mission to address social opportunities in education. Like many other states, Kentucky is relatively rural and relatively poor. It has experienced long-standing achievement gaps between the poor rural areas and the higher-income urban areas of the state. Like many other states, Kentucky contains a relatively large number of small, rural school districts. Kentucky also experienced a comprehensive school reform in 1990 that included both finance reforms and a stated goal to make teaching a more attractive career option especially in poorer, rural Appalachian Kentucky. Have Kentucky’s reforms translated into enhancing educational opportunities for traditionally disadvantaged student populations?
In answering these questions, this study provides a longitudinal examination of teacher recruitment and retention in Kentucky, with a special focus on potential differences in teacher career trajectories in urban and rural areas. In particular, the study will focus on pre- and post education reform periods to assess whether the quality of teachers hired by schools and the quality of teachers retained has improved as spending and salary variance across schools have declined. While the proposed study will utilize data from Kentucky, its implications will be relevant for all states with rural populations, especially the states with high rates of poverty among rural school students.
Martin School Involvement
Grant #: 201000055
Grant Amount: $279,100
Grant Title: Teaching Careers in Rural Schools
Dates: August 1, 2009-July 31, 2011
Team:
Principal Investigaor:
Genia Toma
Co-Principal Investigators:
J.S. Butler
Joshua Cowen
Megan Sreams
Jacob Fowles