The thesis is devoted to the organizational and pedagogical bases of the rural school functioning in the USA. On the basis of scientific literature and normative documents analysis the actuality of problem and essence of the research subject have been defined. The historical and retrospective analysis of American rural school development has been carried out and four periods of the rural school formation development have been described (the period of creation and formation of the state rural school, the period of consolidation, the period of modernization and the period of reformation of American rural school). It has been determined that the constant feature of the rural school functioning during all of the periods is its being the principal institute of formal education, accessible in rural communities of the USA. Organizational and pedagogical bases of the USA rural school that determine its functioning and development have been found out. Among organizational bases, we distinguish a legislative and administrative ones, among pedagogical bases - multifunctional character of its activity (functional bases) and the central role in local community life (social bases). It has been discovered that rural school occupies the special place in the village structure, carrying out the role of educational, social, cultural center, influencing the solution of health problems, community members' employment, and social, economic and demographic policy of rural society. The multifunctional character of the American rural school is realized by performing five main functions: educational, cultural, social, economic and political. The social function is the widest and combines the function of the personality socialization, the function of social mobility assistance, the community retaining function, the function of social integration and the consultative function. It has been investigated, that the USA rural school partnership with local society is fulfilled in close collaboration of three social institutes: the school, the family and the community, the most widespread kinds and forms of school-community education co-operation have been found out. It has been estimated that rural school-family-community co-operation in the USA is directed at the educational system perfection; upgrading students' knowledge; forming the civil position and sense of belonging to the community; an increase of agricultural professions prestige; prevention of early criminality, alcoholism, drug addiction and juvenile pregnancy; preparation for going to college; support of school stuff; school building and equipment modernization etc. Reforms and governmental programs, targeted at the increase of rural school work efficiency have been studied. It has been defined that the modern rural school of the USA works within the framework of the legislative documents "Goals - 2000" (1994), "Improving America's Schools Act" (1994), "School Improvement Act" (1997), "The No Child Left Behind Act" (2001). They provide the ways of educational level improvement through the financial support of rural state schools; the maintenance of the comprehensive rural school restructuring; proper application of telecommunication technologies; the support of the innovative programs and projects, directed at the increase of rural education efficiency; improvement of educational and social welfare of rural schoolchildren; the encouragement of community, family and production co-operation; the support of school-community partnership as a factor of economic renovation; the distribution of "community-as-school" conception. It has been found out that at the state level in the USA the programs of academic, administrative, scientific, socialization and health-safety directions function. They are aimed at the subsequent rural school education democratization, the improvement of education quality and providing an equal access to high-quality education in rural regions; foresee refinancing of schools in districts with undeveloped economy; pedagogical support of children from low-income families; cultural and social heterogeneity problems solving. The analysis of the American rural school functioning experience has enabled to outline the possibilities of the progressive ideas implementation in the matters of Ukrainian rural school modernization and support on such organizational and pedagogical bases as: school as a center of rural educated citizen preparation; school as a center of community development; network co-operation; partnership. Considering the similarity of the American and Ukrainian rural school descriptions, the row of effective aspects can have practical significance in the decision of problems which stand before rural school of our country on the assumption of their creative adaptation to the circumstances of the Ukrainian village.
