Inside Scoop
Rural Education Gets Squeezed

Big problems are cropping up for small schools in the country.

Seven teachers, 34 kids. Sound too good to be true? It was. Those numbers describe what was the Butte Public School, in Butte, North Dakota, which closed last year, along with many other schools in rural areas of the country. West Virginia alone has closed a fifth of its schools in the last decade. They're all victims of a relentless school consolidation effort, leaving children with fond memories to think about on their new, much longer bus rides to bigger schools.

And consolidation is just one of the severe problems facing schools in rural areas.

How many students are there in rural areas and small towns?
About 11.4 million children go to school in communities defined by the Census Bureau as rural or small towns.

That's about a quarter of the 46.4 million school children in America. They are divided roughly equally between what the Census Bureau calls rural communities (under 2,500) and small towns (2,500 to 25,000).

What are the benefits of small, rural schools?
"There's a strong sense of community," says Pam Brown, a technology teacher who chairs the NEA's Rural Caucus. "Often, the community is staying alive because of the school. And there's more individual attention for children."

Marty Strange of the Rural School and Community Trust, a group that's fighting consolidation, recalls one little girl at a school that was closing. She said, "I'll miss being the only Emily."

What are the advantages of bigger, consolidated schools?
Bigger schools can offer a greater variety of programs, both academic and extra-curricular.

It's easier to organize classes so teachers only teach in their specialties.

Faculty and students are both likely to be more diverse.

"My son was in a class of seven last year," says Brown. "There were two other boys. He didn't have much choice about who his peer group would be."

Bigger schools also offer students a chance to work with more teachers. "Maybe one English teacher is really good at journalism, but the other one is stronger in literature, which is what you discover you like," says Brown.

And let's not forget something of crucial importance to political decision makers: Consolidated schools are often cheaper to run, largely because the classes are bigger.

How about the bus rides?
Transportation is an enormous problem in many districts with consolidated schools. Some students, even small children, spend more than 90 minutes traveling each way.

"My own kids," says Brown, "get on the bus in the dark before 7 a.m., and when they have sports practice they come home in the dark at 7 p.m."

Can we have the benefits of small schools without the drawbacks?
Not easily, because the benefits and drawbacks both flow from smallness.

But sometimes technology can help. For example, South Dakota Education Association President Elaine Roberts points to Mary Cundy of Miller, South Dakota, an experienced calculus teacher, who is leading a class in another school by video, along with her own students.

The regular math teacher for the other class takes part as well. Next year, he'll have the experience to teach this subject on his own, without having had to jump in and sink or swim.

I like peace and quiet. Can I find a teaching job in rural America?
There are plenty of jobs for teachers in rural areas. The teacher shortage is even worse there than elsewhere.

But don't expect to get rich. Rural areas generally pay less.

In the NEA's annual state-by-state salary surveys, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota seem to compete for last place. All three pay less than three-quarters of the national average.

As a result, some North Dakota schools couldn't fill teaching positions. "Their kids are trying to learn core subjects over interactive television with a screen in front of the room instead of a teacher," Brown reports.

What can be done?
Brown says high-speed connectivity can help provide access to the outside world. Mentoring programs can help rural schools hold on to their young teachers. And free tuition for advanced degree studies can encourage experienced teachers to stay.

Brown argues that states need to take a hard look at their priorities. "In North Dakota," she notes, "we have really beautiful rest areas on our highways. But we're 50th in teacher salaries."

But she adds, "These states can't do it alone. There has to be funding at a national level."

Many rural areas simply don't have the resources. Outside America's metropolitan areas, one in seven people lives below the poverty line. That's not quite as high as in central cities (one in six), but it's much higher than in the rest of metropolitan America (one in 12).

The NEA is pushing to double the federal funds going to small rural schools, especially those in low income areas.

"I'm a product of a rural school," says Amy Simmons, an NEA student leader at Minot State University in North Dakota who grew up in Glenburn, population 450.

"I got plenty of attention from my teachers, and I had opportunities to get involved in 15 things at once--basketball, volleyball, choir, band, class officer, homecoming queen, everything.

"When I have children," she says, "this is what I want for them."

--Alain Jehlen

For more: Visit the Rural School and Community Trust at www.ruraledu.org, the Appalachia Educational Laboratory at www.ael.org/rel/rural/index.htm, and Organizations Concerned with Rural Education (OCRE) at www.ruralschools.org/. And go to www.nea.org and search for "rural."