Visits to nine of the smallest rural elementary schools in Colorado were conducted to gain insights into types of communities served by the schools. No one definition of "rural" covered all nine communities, so they were classified into six types: predominantly agricultural, rural industrial, stable recreational, ranching/railraod, rural commuter, and loosely structured/isolated. The Arriba (22 students), Gleneyre (10), and Shamrock (3) schools were in differing agricultural communities. Powderwash was an example of a rural industrial community (a gas company town), with 16 pupils in its school. Poudre School had 15 students, most from families connected with nearby resorts. A railroad/ranching community school, McCoy Elementary (20 students) provided the last opportunity, as in Powderwash, for the community to participate in and control the socialization of its children, as high school students were bused elsewhere. Gold Hill (25 students) and Cherry Valley (26) schools were rural in location, but attached to larger, non-rural districts. Brown's Park School with 13 students, mainly from sheep ranches and copper mining families, was the major factor drawing the community together. All nine schools provided the most important social institution around which the communities were organized; eight no longer had the authority to determine whether their schools would continue to operate; all communities considered teachers important. (MH)