Rural schools make the grade

Thirteen area schools that were too small to be evaluated in August have all met new federal education standards, according to a list released Wednesday by the state Office of Public Instruction.

The state's 176 smallest schools - including the Cleveland, Bear Paw, Davey and Cottonwood schools, K-G School, Joplin-Inverness K-6, Gildford Colony and North Harlem Elementary schools - were evaluated by a team of OPI officials in December. The officials used a three-step evaluation process to determine if the schools met the standards of No Child Left Behind, President Bush's sweeping education pol...