I worked for a year in a wonderful country school. The principal was in his last year. He looked at the absense report and then got in his car and went to the places he knew truants would be and brought them to school. Big and bureaucratic schools are not nearly as effective as neighborhood schools under local control.
My favorite school where I once taught was located in a rural area, too. The parents were very interested and involved in their children's education, and constantly gave me small gifts of appreciation. All the teachers at that public school enrolled their own kids there as well. It was a very good experience for me as a teacher. Not at all like experiences I have had in urban schools.