ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by providing an overview on the current rural school crisis that is created by a distrustful relationship with higher education, a shrinking teacher pipeline, isolation, and the lack of educational programs to prepare students for college. The author discusses how the crisis correlates to regional economic prosperity or the lack thereof. The loss of skilled workers results in high rates of poverty that continue to increase. The chapter ends with a hopeful look at what can be done to combat this crisis by helping students become college ready. The author shares specific strategies from his nearly 40 years of working in this field, as a researcher and as the founder of CFES, before ending the chapter with cases that illustrate the power of partnerships and leadership.
