School & District Management

Long Bus Rides Said To Hurt Rural Achievement

By Alan Richard — September 12, 2001 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Bus rides for many rural schoolchildren are long and rough—and they are worse for students from poorer families, a report released last week says.

“The Rural School Bus Ride in Five States” includes results from surveys of nearly 700 elementary school principals in Arkansas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Washington state.

Read the report, “The Rural School Bus Ride in Five States,” Aug. 20, 2001.

The report was co-written and researched by Craig Howley, the director of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, and his wife, Aimee Howley, the chairwoman of the education studies department at Ohio University in Athens. It was written for the Rural School and Community Trust, a Washington-based advocacy organization for rural schools.

Bus rides of 30 minutes or longer are 75 percent more common in largely poor rural communities, compared with more affluent rural communities, the researchers found. One in four rural schools reported bus rides of an hour or longer, and said that many drivers lack emergency training and ways to communicate with their bases.

A surprising finding, the Howleys say, is that bus rides, on average, were longer for rural white schoolchildren than for rural minority students.

The study says consolidation of rural districts could result in longer bus rides for children, negatively affecting their ability to learn.

“Rural kids are put at a disadvantage across the board,” Ms. Howley said.

The study follows a similar one presented by the couple in April, written for the Rural School and Community Trust and the Charleston, W.Va.-based Appalachian Regional Educational Laboratory, showing that rural children faced significantly longer school bus rides than suburban students did.

The results suggest that more research needs to be done on how American schools define community schooling, Mr. Howley said, and on how close to home schools should be.

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management Rising Tensions From Israel-Hamas War Are Seeping Into Schools
As effects of the war reverberate in school communities, schools have federal responsibilities to create discrimination-free environments.
5 min read
People gather in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Vt., for a vigil, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. The three students were being treated at the University of Vermont Medical Center, and one faces a long recovery because of a spinal injury, a family member said.
People gather in Pliny Park in Brattleboro, Vt., for a vigil, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023, for the three Palestinian-American students who were shot while walking near the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vt., Saturday, Nov. 25. Tensions over the Israel-Hamas war are playing out in schools and colleges across the country, including some K-12 schools.
Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
School & District Management The Missed Opportunity for Public Schools and Climate Change
More cities are creating climate action plans, but schools are often left out of the equation.
4 min read
Global warming illustration, environment pollution, global warming heating impact concept. Change climate concept.
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week and iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management 13 States Bar School Board Members From Getting Paid. Here's Where It's Allowed (Map)
There are more calls to increase school board members' pay, or to allow them to be paid at all.
Two professional adults, with a money symbol.
sankai/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion Bad Sleep Is a Problem for Principals. Here’s What to Do About It
Our new study highlights the connection between stress and sleep among school leaders, write three researchers.
Eleanor Su-Keene, David E. DeMatthews & Alex Keene
5 min read
Stylized illustration of an alarm clock over a background which is split in half, with one half being nighttime and one half being daytime.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva