Earlier this year, Dropout Nation discussed the potential of the latest round of the federal Race to the Top initiative in directly spurring systemic reform within traditional districts ... Expect outfits representing rural districts to play a stronger role in shaping future Race to the Top district-level efforts, either by forming coalitions similar to that for the civil rights-oriented reformers such as the Coalition for High School Equity, or by teaming up with reformers such as the Alliance for Excellent Education (which has put some focus on rural districts) to red line rules governing future rounds of Race to the Top and other competitive grants.