Rural high schools are often the heart of rural towns, as they can have significant social, cultural, and environmental contributions to community life. The absence of a high school can impact students' mental, physical, and social health and the entire community's social and economic well-being. This research used Community-Based Participatory Research to examine rural education and community development processes using place-responsive approaches in the rural town of Wells, BC. Wells is a unique, dynamic, artsy community in the BC interior and does not currently have a high school. Results suggested that a lack of a high school in Wells had reverberating social and economic effects on individual and community life. Understanding these effects can allow community members to target unique opportunities that counter impacts. Community approaches to alternative education integrated place-responsive, community-, outdoor, and art-based education that reflected community values. These values can be incorporated into educational models and programs to respond to context-specific community desires and needs. Research results can be referred to when determining future directions for local education in Wells and inform more global applications of educational and rural place-based community development policy and practices.
