Rural Education Policy


Support the Rural Trust!

During this special time of year, we are thankful for our progress and ask for your support as our work together moves forward. Every contribution makes a significant difference and every dollar you gives goes directly to advancing our mission and goals.


Join Marty Strange in a Kappan Conversation

Rural Trust Policy Director Marty Strange is the featured guest in a Kappan Conversation at 4 p.m. ET, Thursday, March 24. Register by March 22 to take part in this special webinar on "Finding Fairness for Rural Students."


The Rural Solution: How Community Schools Can Reinvigorate Rural Education

Doris Terry Williams, executive director of the Rural School and Community Trust and director of the Trust's Capacity Building Program, explains the value of full-service community schools in rural areas in this report from the Center for American Progress.


The Rural Dropout Problem: An Invisible Achievement Gap

This report reviews high school dropout rates and related factors in rural high schools throughout 15 Southern and Southwestern states. These schools are in districts that are among the 800 rural districts with the highest student poverty rate nationally. Seventy-seven percent of the "Rural 800" districts and 87 percent of the students in them are in these fifteen targeted states.


Title I Inequities in Plain Language

Some districts get less Title I money per eligible student than others, often much less, even in districts with very high poverty rates. That discrepancy is explained here with easy-to-understand examples…


High-Poverty Rural, Small Town Districts Concentrated in Distinct Regions

The poorest rural school districts educate more than a million students with poverty rates higher than many cities. These districts are concentrated in distinct regions, mainly across the southern half of the country from California to North Carolina and into central Appalachia…


Groups Address School Pushout Crisis

As community groups and child advocates respond to increasing incidents of severe and excessive school discipline and rising rates of students being pushed out of school, it’s becoming clearer what kinds of approaches can help…


Identifying the Poorest Rural Schools

The Rural Trust has identified the 900 poorest rural districts in the country. Here’s how we did it…


Getting Real About Rural Schools

Misconceptions about rural schools abound and they hurt students and communities, especially in the toughest places. In this essay we explore some of the realities of rural education and some of the things that would actually make a positive difference…