What’s It Like Teaching in a Rural School?

One-third of America’s schools are rural and about 10 million K-12 students attend rural public schools, an increase from 18.5% in 2012 to 20.3% in 2022. This increase in attendance isn’t the full story, however. Rural schools are still in a precarious position. Budget cuts, shrinking class sizes, and long-term population trends that promise even more shifts are impacting rural schools.

We reviewed the data from a recent report on rural education and asked teachers in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE to weigh in on the challenges and rewards of teaching rural.

The Wins in Rural Schools

Rural schools are doing a lot right, particularly when it comes to diversity, high school graduation, and academic achievement. 

Rural schools can be diverse

The diversity index in rural schools (33.4%) is lower than the overall U.S. diversity index (45.9%), but in 10 states, the rural diversity index is higher than average (Delaware, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Nevada, Maryland, Florida, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas). 

Students in rural schools graduate at higher rates

Students in rural schools graduate high school at rates higher than their urban peers. In 34 out of 46 states, rural students graduated at higher rates than non-rural peers. Overall, 89.8% of students in rural schools graduated high school, compared to 87.2% of students in non-rural schools.  

Rural schools are offsetting poverty

Rural schools appeared to offset the impact of poverty on achievement. The differences between students experiencing poverty and not in reading and math were smaller in rural schools. 

Those are the positives. On the flip side, teachers in rural schools face real challenges. 

The Challenges in Rural Schools

Declining enrollment and working in isolated areas are two main challenges to rural schools.

“Declining enrollment hurts”

Rural schools are more sensitive to changes in population trends. When people have fewer children, that means fewer students and less money to staff schools. This change is different district-by-district. For example, in California, some districts that had more than 1,000 students declined to less than 400 from the early 2000s to now. And in Massachusetts, rural school enrollment declined 14% from 2012 to 2020. 

Here’s what teachers had to say:

“Declining enrollment hurts. I am starting my 13th year at this district. We had about 60 kids per grade in the high school when I started. We now have 35-45. … At some point we won’t be able to support 2 teachers for each core subject, but no one wants a job with that many preps. … It is hard to attract and keep teachers and principals.” —Roberta V.  

“The largest challenge [in working in a rural school] is being short-handed many days because of the lack of substitutes due to being so rural.” —Camp Sleep N Eats

Rural teachers are “jacks-of-all-trades”

Perhaps it goes without saying that when there aren’t enough teachers, everyone’s skill set gets stretched. Being a “jack-of-all-trades” that goes well beyond lunchroom duty was a theme among rural teachers in the HELPLINE.

“[As a teacher] you sort of have to do everything. Teacher, coach, bus driver, all of it. Also, for instance, if you’re a high school teacher, you have to plan more due to having so many different classes.” —William W. 

“‘Other duties as assigned’ guides your professional life. Since village schools sometimes have staff as small as 5 or fewer teachers, you may be asked to teach outside of your content (sometimes multiple subjects), serve lunch, help with emergencies (many schools are community [evacuation] centers), coach a sport or 3.” —Andrew W., teacher in a rural Alaska school

Teaching in Rural Schools Today

Rural schools can be amazing places to teach, where teachers are the heart of the community. HELPLINE teachers who teach in rural schools embraced their communities, use technology, and find community.

Embrace being rural

Teaching in a rural school comes with a community-specific calendar, whether that’s related to the harvest or hunting season, or something else entirely.

“Attendance tanks during hunting season, haying season, planting season. I try to be up front about due dates so [students] can plan ahead and I adjust where I can.” —Kathleen G. 

“Rural village schools need teachers to place local culture front and center. In Alaskan village schools, this means a biology dissection might not be a frog, but rather a muskrat someone brought in. An ecology lesson on populations would center on caribou. A physics lesson might talk about how snow machines can waterskip (look it up!).” —Andrew W. 

“I grew up and attended college in a big city, then moved to a rural community for my first teaching job. There was some culture shock! Families went hunting on the weekends, not to the mall. Amenities are limited, and a trip to Costco was an all-day activity with 3 hours of driving. But there was also a sense of community I had never experienced before.” —Brittani M. 

“We have Bring Your Tractor to School day!” —Stacey B.

The Internet brings opportunity

Even after COVID revealed how essential Internet access is, 13.4% of rural households do not have a minimum broadband connection to engage in streaming videos or participate in virtual class. Still, the Internet provides opportunity for rural schools. 

“[I teach virtually.] If a site doesn’t have a science teacher, they can turn to me as part of [an online] class. I have students in [multiple] Alaskan villages.” —Andrew W.  

Rural schools can be amazing places to teach

“I truly feel a positive sense of family and community in my rural district. We are also high poverty, but with that comes a sense that everyone has to work together to achieve their goals. Students and teachers all know each other, many staff members are lifelong members of the community and work hard to grow the next generation.” —Regina G. via the We Are Teachers HELPLINE 

“I am the only teacher in a one-room rural school. I have [transitional kindergarten] through 3rd all at once! It really is a special situation. … In such a small, rural setting, I get to know my families really well, which makes communication easier, especially when it may be a sensitive or difficult matter.” —Amanda M. 

“I grew up in the same rural community that I teach in. I’m the fourth generation of my family to teach in my district and actually hold my great-grandma’s position. … Sometimes it is hard, but the longer I teach (starting year 10), the more I appreciate it.” —Caitlin F. 

“I like knowing all the students in the building. I think there is a lot more positive peer pressure amongst the students. You tend to have more autonomy in your teaching and curriculum.” —Roberta V. 

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