Rural Schools and their Declining Enrollment (Part I)

By: Yewon Lee

COVID-19 impacted all Americans in unexpected ways. From adjusting to everyday activities in a mask to hearing the words “quarantine” and “isolation” on a daily basis, there have been a multitude of hardships, struggles, and triumphs over the past year. For some time, the reopening of schools was a national conversation involving students, parents, teachers, and staff, alike, but one major topic remained to be addressed: rural schools. Although rural students make up approximately 15% of all American students, they are often left out of the national conversation in addressing roadblocks to their educational success. 

The first most apparent barrier to rural schools is the lack of funding. Take for instance, the state of Georgia, and their mere $5,681 educational spending per year, per student. This value is approximately 700 dollars less than the national average. That statistic alone is enough to be alarming, but the discrepancy is not about a couple students, but rather Georgia as the 3rd largest rural student population in the United States. Lacking enough funding, local school districts are quite literally forced to cut down on extracurricular activities, sports, arts, and music programs, which are usually the first to go. Eventually, teachers may be laid off and for those that are not, paychecks are reduced. The chain reaction has started and qualified teachers are encouraged to seek employment elsewhere.

Funding issues were then exasperated by COVID, as districts scrambled to find virtual learning platforms, safety equipment, and coronavirus resources over the past year. Rural students similarly had to find suitable internet access or drove to school for hours. Their geographical barrier of both the lack of broadband access and living far from school made the digital divide more apparent as the school year fast approached. Students’ barriers to reliable learning also manifested in rural school enrollment statistics; enrollment in Alabama schools decreased by more than 10,000 from the fall of 2019 to fall 2020. Conecuh, Choctaw, Wilcox, Dallas, Randolph, and Covington counties fell in enrollment by over 5%.

Please see Part II of this topic for resources and ways to better help rural schools!