The work of the center will focus on three areas:

1) Facilitation - The Center will serve to facilitate dialogue, the sharing of needs, concerns, and research ideas and findings between rural communities and the organizations listed below. In short, the center will act as a clearinghouse and conduit to ensure that the needs of rural schools and communities are heard and met through being connected to resources not previously available to them. Regular meetings will be held with the advisory committee (REAC) and with other constituents.

2) Capacity - The Center will build an infrastructure to capture and integrate relevant and available data from multiple state agencies across many years. This will enhance the capabilities of two main audiences: 1) Local communities and their school leaders. Such leaders will be able to obtain the information they need to inform their current programming and future planning as they strive to educate all children at higher levels (e.g., enrollment projections). When necessary, the center will provide training for local leaders in using relevant data; 2) The research community. Scholars at Cornell, across NYS, and the nation will efficiently be able to access valuable data that heretofore has not been readily accessible. Using the expertise at Cornell’s Institute for Social and Economic Research, data will be collected, linked, and made available.

3) Research - The Center will serve as a hub for research on rural schools. This scope will be broadly construed and rooted in the evidence that schools are integrated in their local communities and attempt to meet individual, community, state, and national needs. A range of issues will be explored, though priority will be given to issues identified by the advisory board (REAC), the RSA, local communities, and Cornell scholars. The range of research may include but not limited to school reorganization, fiscal analyses, STEM-related curriculum and interventions, dropout and school completion, early care and education, child and community health, teacher preparation, labor markets, and professional development. Relevant research expertise across Cornell, the State, and nation will be tapped when necessary to .

To achieve its goals, The Center will take advantage of the ongoing relationships¹, expertise, and resources of the following organizations:

• Cornell University and its Offices of Land Grant Affairs and Outreach
• Rural Schools Association of New York State (RSA)
• Rural Education Advisory Committee (REAC)
• New York State Board of Regents
• Business-Higher Education Forum (Chaired by President Skorton)
• Cornell’s Community and Rural Development Institute and the Rural Visioning Project
• National Science Foundation Outreach Efforts - Family Life Course Development Center
• Departments of Education, City and Regional Planning, Development Sociology, Sociology, and Labor Economics
• Colleges of Agriculture and Life Science, Human Development, and Industrial and Labor Relations
• State Education Department, Office of Children and Family Services, State Health Department
• Other public and private institutions of higher education in NYS
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  ¹ The Center has longstanding and fruitful relationships with each of these organizations.

The Center will be organized as follows:

Board - shall advise on the priorities and activities of the Center
Director - shall organize and coordinate the activities of the Center
Post Doc - shall carryout a coherent and relevant research program
Graduate Student - shall work with faculty to provide substantive support
Sponsored Research - RFPs will be developed and disseminated widely