Study Tracks a Rise in Rural Enrollment

"Why Rural Matters 2011-12"

Enrollment in rural schools is growing faster than in cities and suburbs, and rural students are becoming poorer and more racially diverse, a report says.

The report is the latest in a biennial series on the state of the nation's rural schools released by the Rural School and Community Trust, a nonprofit rural education advocacy group in Washington. Based on 2008-09 figures, the 11.4 million students in rural schools or districts make up 23 percent of the nation's public school enrollment, it says. Rural districts saw a 22 percent increase in enrollment over a 10-year period, compared with a 1.7 percent...