For a 1977 qualitative analysis of the implementation of federally-funded programs in rural school districts, telephone interviews and/or field visits were conducted with various agencies in Vermont, North Carolina, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, and California in order to identify rural districts which reflected a range of demonstrated ability to attract and utilize federal Title IV funds and which met a strict definition of rural. The investigation focused on the systemic needs of district organizations that arise because of small size and remoteness, rather than on the needs of students per se or of the population served by rural districts. The needs identified (financial constraints, difficulties of attracting staff, and administrative limitations) represented severe obstacles to maintaining or improving quality of schooling in "stressed" districts (high concentrations of poor and minority children and severe economic stagnation). Possible solutions and strategies identified included revising funding mechanisms, sharing services and regional agencies, building organizational capacity in rural districts, devising incentives for personnel, making adjustments in federal regulations, recognizing diversity among rural districts, and designing federal education policies which more effectively serve rural students and would require more research on needs and on potential strategies. (AN)