Rural School and Community Trust releases 50-state report: Why Rural Matters

November 8, 2019 |
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On Thursday November 7th, The Rural School and Community Trust released its report "Why Rural Matters 2018-2019: The Time in Now". We encourage you to read the full report here and spread the word on why rural education matters!


WASHINGTON, D.C. -
Despite greater attention to rural America after the 2016 presidential election and bold promises from many state-level and national leaders, many children and families in rural America still don’t have the educational resources and opportunities they deserve. That’s among the findings of the Rural School and Community Trust’s new 50-state report on rural education. Why Rural Matters 2018-19: The Time is Now shows that nearly 7.5 million students were enrolled last year in rural school districts--nearly one in seven public school students in the U.S. About one in six of those rural students were living below the poverty line.

When counted as the number who attend rural schools, including those in districts classified as non-rural by the National Center for Education Statistics, more than 9.3 million students attended a rural school. That’s nearly one in five U.S. students and more students than in the nation’s 85 largest school districts combined.

“While some rural schools thrive, others and their communities continue to face devastating obstacles in the education and well-being of children,” said Robert Mahaffey, the executive director of the Rural School and Community Trust. “Leaders in every state and our nation’s capital must work together to better address the issues facing rural students, schools, and communities with great haste.”

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