The Rural Bellwether

Abstract

SCHOOLS IN rural America face an array of problems every bit as daunting and intractable as those confronting schools in urban communities. In rural communities, graduating students who see no future locally leave town, and a snowball effect begins. These young people are no longer there to start families, to send their children to school, to buy toothpaste from the local druggist, or to buy houses from the local realtor. A brain drain leaves fewer high-quality workers to attract high-quality jobs. Fewer high-quality jobs mean even fewer opportunities for the next generation of students, who will find themselves forced by economic necessity to leave the community. In fact, in 22 states more than half of all rural schools lost students between the 1994-95 and 1997-98 school years, according to the newsletter Rural Policy Matters. Those states with the highest percentages of enrollment loss were Louisiana, Idaho, North Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming. States with large rural populations have begun to face these and other problems of rural schooling directly. The State Role In Iowa, 262 of 374 school districts (70%) experienced enrollment declines between 1999 and 2000, and the percentage decline has been largest in districts enrolling fewer than 1,000 students. No wonder Iowa Gov. Thomas Vilsack says his priority is to offer Iowans new opportunities, including better schools, a preventive health-care system, a cleaner environment, a rejuvenated economy, safer communities, and a more accountable state government. Gov. Vilsack has said that, if Iowa doesn't grow during the next 10 years, businesses won't have the personnel they need to prosper. He recently unveiled details of his plan to create more high-wage jobs in Iowa, saying the state should focus its economic development programs on three areas: advanced manufacturing, information solutions, and life sciences. The governor has proposed spending $4.5 million for this effort. Last spring's H.B. 2433 stipulated that a statewide strategic plan be written at least once every five years for Iowa's community colleges. A broad-based working group, with members appointed by the governor, the legislature, and a number of other stakeholder groups, has been established. Also in Iowa, the Accelerated Career Education Grant Program, part of the Accelerated Career Education and Job Training Act, recognizes that community colleges are the postsecondary institutions most likely to be located in rural areas and to provide the technical training needed by surrounding communities. The program provides grant funds to students attending community colleges. Meanwhile, legislators in Nebraska passed the Education and Career Preparation Act, which acknowledges that technology is changing the educational and training needs of employees. These changes are directly related to Nebraska's economic competitiveness. Indeed, state leaders believe that education and career preparation have become critical for the state because students must possess the academic, communication, and technological skills they need for employment and lifelong learning. The act is designed to help students: * acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to enter a career preparation program at a postsecondary institution or to enter employment directly; * develop skills to balance the dimensions of work, family, and community; * gain exposure to a wide variety of careers; and * gain experience in career paths through supervised work-based experience. Attracting Personnel To Rural Schools Rural communities face special problems in attracting staff members for rural schools. For example, a community looking for a teacher might not have a job suitable for the teacher's spouse, and newly hired teachers accustomed to the convenience of multiple movie theaters and major malls sometimes find it hard to adjust to the extremely limited choices of a rural community. …