Additional Learning Opportunities in Rural Areas: Needs, Successes, and Challenges

Publication Date: April 2008

Publisher: Center for American Progress

Author(s): Roy Forbes

Research Area: Education

Type: Report

Abstract:

Rural, low-income students are more at risk of becoming high school dropouts than their city and suburban peers. This fact alone should be a sufficient reason to address the challenges facing rural schools that serve low-income areas, but the negative findings do not stop with that one statistic. Students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches do not score as well on assessments as other students, and students attending rural schools do not perform as well as students who attend suburban schools. Rural schools, especially those serving low-income areas, need the nation’s attention, but currently they are not receiving the attention they deserve.