These five articles offer ideas on rural education, school consolidation, and community-based educational improvement initiatives. The first article, by Boyd Kidwell, gives a status report of rural schools, which are saddled by declining enrollments, fewer dollars, and demands for higher standards. Examples in Georgia, Texas, and Missouri are used to illustrate rural-urban differences, and these examples raise questions about the benefits of school consolidation. A Texas community's effort to save its small school is also described. The second article, by Des Keller, describes a preschool education improvement program in Wilmot, Arkansas. The Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) teaches parents how to help their children at home. The article also describes a Georgia high school's dropout prevention program, a Tennessee education equity movement, and a field-trip program in Nebraska. The third article, by Nancy Dorman-Hickson, describes the use of satellites and cable TV linkages to offer courses not ordinarily available to rural students. Equipment costs and funding sources are also described. The fourth article, by Boyd Kidwell, discusses the rural teacher shortage and teacher quality. Teachers are profiled and their efforts in dropout prevention, early childhood education, poverty, and community involvement are described. The fifth article, by Nancy Dorman-Hickson, describes the Houlka (Mississippi) Organization for Pupil Education (HOPE), a rural community's fund-raising and educational facilities improvement effort. A final summary section suggests ways that rural communities might find funding, support teachers, cultivate community involvement, and come up with creative teaching tools. The booklet also includes a list of 10 agencies offering assistance to rural educators. (TES)