Hard question for Ga schools: Which future’s best for rural students?
President-elect Donald Trump promised rural and Rust Belt communities he would bring back jobs by reviving declining industries. “Let me tell you: The miners in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, which was so great to me last week, and Ohio and all over, they’re going to start to work again, believe me. You’re going to be proud again to be miners,” he said.
The issue raises an interesting question for schools in economically depressed areas where jobs and hopes have dwindled: Should students be encouraged to stay and stem the population declines that have sapped their communities or pack their bags for better opportunities elsewhere?
According to the federal government, population growth rates in non-metro areas have been significantly lower than in metro areas since the mid-1990s and the gap widened considerably in recent years. While 72 percent of the U.S. is considered rural, it is home to about 15 percent of the nation’s residents.
Americans have always moved for jobs. Many displaced coal miners came from families that migrated in the late 1800s and early 1900s in search of jobs in what was then a burgeoning industry. But coal mining collapsed because of cheaper and cleaner energy sources and because fewer workers were needed in the era of strip mining and automation.
Should schools revere a past unlikely to come back — unless taxpayers subsidize it — or point students to a future that may entail abandoning their rural and small-town roots?
This discussion transcends borders. A Chinese official set off a debate a few years ago with her comment that rural Chinese students shouldn’t be encouraged to pursue university educations. Her reason: They fall short academically compared to urban students so they will end up working at lower-level positions in China’s cities when it would be better for their families if they came home to the farm.
While economists see migrations for job advancement as a positive sign, families may not agree. Rural teachers say family resistance keeps bright kids from applying to colleges out of the area, bypassing four-year universities for local community colleges. A Texas Tech University study found while 70 percent of students in metro areas enroll in more schooling after high school, only 64 percent of rural students do.
Of those rural students, 47 percent opt for two-year institutions, compared to 38 percent of their urban peers. Why is that important? Because more selective colleges have higher completions rates.
In its 2013-2014 update on rural students in America, the Rural School and Community Trust found discouraging data in Georgia: “More than 580,000 students attend rural schools in Georgia. Only Texas and North Carolina educate more rural students. Poverty and mobility rates are among the highest in the United States with half of rural students living in poverty. Low rates of earned high school diplomas and high rates of unemployment characterize rural adult populations in the state. Only three states have larger rural schools and districts than Georgia, and rural NAEP performance is near the bottom nationally.”
On average, Georgia’s rural students score lower on the SAT and require more remedial coursework in college than suburban peers. In its own analysis a few years go, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found about 5 percent of students took Advanced Placement exams in extremely rural areas, compared to more than 20 percent in large suburban districts. Along with fewer advanced courses, the AJC report also found rural districts spent less money per student, and teachers lacked the same opportunities for training and development.
I came across a quote from Georgia football legend Herschel Walker that speaks to the limits sometimes imposed on children growing up in rural and small town communities: Coming from a small town it was really tough to dream big. When I grew up in a small town in Georgia, my biggest dream was one day to be able to go to Atlanta, Georgia. To be able to go to Atlanta, which was about two hours and 45 minutes from my home. So, to dream about going to Atlanta was it.
