Why Rural Matters
Last Updated: January 10, 2012
WASHINGTON DC — Nearly one in four American children attend rural schools and enrollment is growing at a faster rate in rural school districts than in all other places combined, according to Why Rural Matters2011–12, a biennial report by the Rural School and Community Trust. In addition, rural schools show increasing rates of poverty, diversity, and students with special needs. These widespread trends are most evident in the South, Southwest, and parts of Appalachia.
“As the evidence mounts that rural education is becoming a bigger and even more complex part of our national educational landscape, it is becoming impossible to ignore in the quest to improve achievement and narrow achievement gaps between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. The day of closing our eyes and hoping rural education will just go away are ending,” said Jerry Johnson, a co-author of Why Rural Matters 2011–12.
More than 9.6 million students are enrolled in rural school districts in the United States — over 20 percent of all public school students in the United States. An additional 1.8 million students are enrolled in rural schools in districts not classified as rural by the federal government. Together, these 11.4 million students who attend rural schools comprise more than 23 percent of all public school students, according to the Rural School and Community Trust, a respected national nonprofit organization.