Why Rural Matters for North Carolina Presented to: The North Carolina Rural Education Advocacy Forum March 29, 2017 NC Department of Public Instruction By: Doris Terry Williams, Ed.D.

helping rural schools and communities grow better together Our Mission helping rural schools and communities grow better together

Goals The Importance of Rural in the Broader Context of State and National Policy and Practice Specific Challenges for Rural North Carolina Teacher and Leader Recruitment and Retention Funding Equity and Adequacy Technology Access and Use Curriculum Promise and Possibilities for Rural North Carolina Engaging Our Assets to Address Our Needs Examples from the Field 10-Point Rural Education Advocacy Agenda

Why Rural Matters: Importance of Definition Rural places are those designated with NCES locale codes 41 (rural fringe), 42 (rural distant), or 43 (rural remote). District-level locale based upon where the plurality of students in the district attend school; makes it possible to use districts as the unit of analysis Policy decisions impacting rural education (e.g., REAP funding) are made using district-level designations of rural status and local policies often tend to be crafted at the district level.

Why Rural Matters: National 8,959,843 children 18.7% of all students attend rural public schools 5% of all students attend rural school districts 25.2% of rural students are non-White 48.2% of rural students are eligible for subsidized meals

Why Rural Matters Half of rural students in the US live in 10 states, including North Carolina More than 1/3 of students in North Carolina attend rural school districts NC is among the states with the highest percentage of ELL students

Why Rural Matters Gauge 1: Importance National North Carolina NC Rank Percent Rural Schools 28.5% 42.4% 18 Percent Rural Students 14.7% 39.4% 5 Number Rural Students 8,959,843 568,161 2 Percent State Education funds to Rural Districts 16.9%

Why Rural Matters Gauge 2: Student and Family Diversity National North Carolina NC Rank Rural Non-White Students 25.2% 40.5% 9 Rural ELL Students 3.5% 5.7% Rural IEP Students 13.4% 13.5% 29 Rural Students Eligible for Subsidized Meals 48.2% 58.4% 13 Rural Mobility 10.6% 10.3% 26

Why Rural Matters Gauge 3: Educational Policy Context National North Carolina NC Rank Rural Instructional Expenditures per Pupil $6,067 $5,101 9 Ratio Instruction to Transportation Expenditure $10.36 14.91 45 Ratio State to Local Revenue to Schools $1.24 $3.00 Salary Expenditures per Instructional FTE $57,798 $54,052 17

Why Rural Matters

Challenges to Rural Education Definition of rural for special funding, like REAP Competitive grant funding Trends in federal and state policy and funding Recruitment of teachers and leaders Technology Curriculum Accountability

Challenges to Rural Education Proposed federal budget – $1.4B – charter, private vouchers, other alternatives $1B – Title 1 funds, adding “portability” $2.4B – teacher and school leader training $1.2B – after school and summer enrichment $3.9B – Pell Grant reserves $43M – teacher preparation grants to colleges $66M – Impact Aid (offsets revenue loss for federally- owned property) Federal Work Study, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants Schools don’t operate in a vacuum – Consider also cuts to HUD, which could increase housing insecurity, homelessness Cuts to federal job training programs

Recommended 10-Point Rural Advocacy Agenda 1. Think forward; think strategically (Think Tank) 2. Build capacity for competitive funding 3. Grow and support you own teachers and leaders 4. Expand broadband access (hot spots on school busses, 1-1 technology devices, and community-based afterschool sites) 5. Develop full-service community schools 6. Expand extended learning opportunities (school and community) that complement schooling 7. Provide equitable funding based on actual cost of educating students in the contexts where they are found 8. Ensure curriculum relevance and equity 9. Leverage university-school-industry connections for a seamless education system 10. Protect the rights of every child to a relevant, high-quality education

Why Rural Matters I, too, am America.

Rural School and Community Trust Doris Terry Williams doris.williams@ruraledu.org