Wide-Open Spaces: Schooling in Rural America Today

Fourteen percent of the nation's population lives in rural communities, and one in five K-12 students attends a rural school. This is a substantial portion of the population, but it's far too often overlooked by education analysts, advocates, and policymakers. Rural communities tend to face some persistent challenges, including higher rates of poverty, lower median household incomes, and lower rates of educational attainment compared to urban areas. The schools serving these rural communities often struggle with declining enrollment, high rates of child poverty, low economies of scale, and a lack of human capital and adequate transportation. Education policy and practice in rural communities must take into account broader community factors, such as limited economic opportunity, poor access to healthcare, and social challenges, like drug addiction. Moreover, rural communities are incredibly diverse, both economically and racially. Some of the country's most impoverished areas are communities with significant minority populations in the rural South, along the U.S.-Mexico border, and on Native American reservations throughout the West. Those focused on improving outcomes for low-income and minority students simply cannot continue to overlook rural America. The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the state of rural communities and schools. It aims to equip advocates, decision-makers, and other stakeholders with a shared understanding of rural education to generate a more accurate and nuanced policy response.