Rural Community Alliance

Rural Community Alliance’s education organizing efforts are supported by funding from The Rural School and Community Trust http://www.ruraledu.org and

Rural Community Alliance believes

• The best educational environment for a child is a small school close to home. 
• In local control. 
• No child should be forced to spend more than 45 minutes one way on a bus.
• That the best schools are those which maintain close ties with the communities that nourish them.

1. School Climate - Students should have a safe, pleasant environment that is conducive to learning.  In large consolidated schools we need to address the issues of overcrowding, lack of acceptance, school violence.
2. Quality of Education - We need both high-quality curriculum and high-quality instruction.  The state's vocational education standards need to be reviewed for relevance and effectiveness.
3. At-risk Students - We need to identify and provide interventions for at-risk students

A Financial Literacy "Train the Trainers" workshop in Little Rock was attended by 20 Rural Community Alliance participants from across the state.  Training was conducted by GMAC's Donald Ferguson, the creator of the SmartEdge course.
SmartEdge is offered by Rural Community Alliance to the public at no charge with one-hour modules in Credit & Budget, Bank & Insurance, Mortgage, and Automotive Financing.  The course is designed for ages 17 and up and each class must have at least 30 participants. Contact Rural Community Alliance staff to set up a training in your area. The course is especially suitable for civic clubs, church groups, high school seniors, and college groups.