More than 9.3 million students go to public schools in rural areas, more than the combined total of the nation’s 85 largest school districts.
Rural schools, ranging from the Black Belt in the South to tiny Alaska Native villages, have many strengths but grapple with funding disparities, teacher shortages and limited college and career opportunities. Solutions are seldom explored because few reporters focus on rural schools.
The Hechinger Report is working to fill that gap.
What will it take for rural districts to compete with larger, better-resourced schools?
Inside a partnership of 9 rural school districts
Some rural states are cutting higher ed. One state is doing the opposite
Spurred by concerns that low college attainment is holding back the rural southeastern swath of the state, Kentucky is exploring ways to bring baccalaureate degrees to the region
The school choice plan that is controversial, even in Texas
Rural residents who consider themselves conservative reject private school vouchers
‘We’re from the university and we’re here to help’
Can community outreach counteract attacks on higher education?
After its college closes, a rural community fights to keep a path to education open
College converts its assets into a nonprofit to help local students persist in pursuing higher education
Rural universities, already few and far between, are being stripped of majors
With budgets and enrollment crashing, some schools cut humanities in favor of ‘workforce needs’
PROOF POINTS: Seven new studies on the impact of a four-day school week
As policymakers debate the schedule switch, some research shows a tiny negative effect on rural students
STUDENT VOICE: How alt-right memes on Instagram and Reddit are radicalizing my classmates
Teachers need to teach students how to identify radical memes, fake news and internet extremism for what they are
A year in the life of a small-town superintendent shows the federal bailout won’t be enough
Unless America dramatically changes its public school funding model, the current $122 billion meant to shore up K-12 education will do little to fundamentally change how reliant schools are on local money
‘It’s so hard and so challenging’: An oral history of year three of pandemic schooling
Teachers, parents and administrators from across the country told us what it’s like to be in school this year and how completely not normal it’s already become
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