Vermont Business Magazine Many states have fallen behind in providing funding, implementing policies, and placing a high priority on improving rural and small-town schools—led byMississippi,Alabama,South Carolina,North Carolinaand Arizona—according to the new biennialWhy Rural Matters 2013-14report from the nonprofit Rural School and Community Trust. In contrast, five of the New England states, including Vermont, are among the 10 highest scoring states.
The 50-state report, released Monday at the Education Writers Association national conference inNashville, shows some states have taken steps to address rural education issues, to varying extents—includingKentucky, New Mexico,North DakotaandOklahoma. But many of those states still rate among the nation's lowest on a variety of rural education measures.
This research series focusing on K-12 education was launched in 2001, and the seventh edition is unique because it includes findings regarding rural early education. Principally, many states do not offer adequate access to high-quality preschool programs for rural low-income families and children.
"We must place a greater priority on providing the resources and programs to narrow the opportunity gap between rural students and the rest of the nation's children," said educator Dr.Doris Terry Williams, Executive Director, Rural School and Community Trust, a nationally-recognized community and education activist residing in ruralNorth Carolina. "Unfortunately, this most recent edition ofWhy Rural Mattersindicates that little or no progress has been made in many states and, in fact, we're backtracking in too many rural communities."
The report also finds that the nation's population of rural schoolchildren is growing at a faster rate than those in urban and suburban areas, by about 137,000 students from 2008-2009 to 2010-2011, based on the latest federal data available. Demographics of rural students also continue to change, with diverse racial-ethnic groups moving into more rural areas. For example, the number of nonwhite rural students increased by more than 120,000, while the number of white rural students increased by approximately 10,000. The Hispanic student population has more than doubled in rural areas in the past decade.
"The growing population diversity of rural students creates many opportunities and challenges that schools must embrace through community engagement, teacher professional development, and innovations in practice that are student-focused regardless of their background," Williams said.
According toDan Showalter,Ohio University, a member of the research team withJerry Johnson,University of North FloridainJacksonville, andBob Klein,Ohio University, "Based on the trends evidenced by our research, the rural student population will continue to become more diverse, multicultural, and representative of all parts of the world."
Other highlights from the report:
Mississippiis the highest-need priority state as measured in the report. It scored in the national top six among the neediest states on four of the fiveWhy Rural Mattersgauges, including first in socioeconomic challenges of rural students, third in educational outcomes for rural and small-town students, fourth in rural education policy needs, and sixth in the importance of rural issues to the overall well-being of the state.
Alabamais the No. 2 highest-need priority state. It scored in the top five nationally on three of the five gauges, including third in rural education policy needs and fifth in both socioeconomic challenges and educational outcomes for rural students.
South Carolinais the No. 3 highest-need priority state. It scores in the top eight on two of the key gauges in the report: socioeconomic challenges and diversity of rural students. In addition, other southern states score in the top 10 overall highest-need priority states, includingTennessee(sixth),Arkansas(tied for eighth)Georgia(tied for eighth) andFlorida(10th).
The 10 highest scoring states in rural education largely follow the nation's higher average family income and investments in education.Massachusetts(49) is first, followed byConnecticut(48),Rhode Island(47),Maryland(46),New Jersey(45),New Hampshire(44),Minnesota(43),Wisconsin(42),Vermont(41), andNew York(40.)
NOTE: Because Hawaii operates as a single school district, there is no data available for "rural districts" and thus lacks rankings on three gauges and the overall priority. The exceptions are indicators where data is taken at the school level (i.e., it is possible to separate rural schools from non-rural schools in the state.
Looking at the highest priority states under each gauge:
- Mainerates highest for the importance of rural education to the overall performance of the state. The top five includedVermont,South Dakota, andOklahoma, but alsoNorth Carolina, which has multiple large metropolitan areas.
- For the most diversity among rural families and students,Floridarates highest.Coloradois second. The complexion of rural America is definitely changing.Arizona,Oklahoma, andTexasmade the top five.
- Floridaalso is highest among states most in need of policy changes to improve rural education.Arizona,Alabama,MississippiandTexasare in the top five.
- For educational outcomes of rural students,New Mexicowas the highest priority state. The top five includedWest Virginia,Mississippi,Alabama, and Hawaii—which has schools in rural and remote areas across its islands.
TheRural School and Community Trustis a national nonprofit organization addressing the crucial relationship between good schools and thriving communities. Our mission is to help rural schools and communities grow better together. Working in some of the poorest, most challenging places, the Rural Trust involves young people in learning linked to their communities, improves the quality of teaching and school leadership, and advocates in a variety of ways for appropriate state and federal educational policies, including efforts to ensure equitable and adequate resources for rural schools.
The Rural School and Community Trust extends appreciation to the Monsanto Fund for providing financial support to publishWhy Rural Matters 2013-14.
SOURCE WASHINGTON,May 19, 2014/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Rural School and Community Trust