Nearly half of all Oklahoma’s public schools are located in rural areas, enrolling more than one-third of all public school students in the state. Close to 60% of rural students qualify for subsidized meals – the fourth highest rate in the country – and nearly one in six rural families lives at or below the federal poverty line. Minority enrollment in rural schools is sizable, as are the percentages of English Language Learner and special education students. Compounding challenges are the nation’s lowest rural per pupil instructional expenditures and the fourth lowest instructional salaries in the country. Scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are also among the lowest in the nation. All of this ranks Oklahoma fifth in the country in need of rural education improvement and attention.