No Longer Forgotten

In Wyoming, we know a few things about rural education - the challenges, the reality, but most of all, the successes. We believe sound education policy is vital to school finance, teacher supply and performance, and school choice. This book encapsulates these ideas for easy consumption. -- Jillian Balow, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Rural schools are extraordinary places and often the glue of the special communities they serve. Never before have their stories been so honorably explored as they are in No Longer Forgotten: The Triumphs and Struggles of Rural Education in America. Our country will never live up to our founding ideals if we do not find a way to uplift the millions of students that trust their education to rural schools. This starts by seeing their story clearly - and that begins with this book. -- Emily Freitag, CEO of Instruction Partners, former Assistant Secretary of Curriculum and Instruction, Tennessee Department of Education

Michael Q. McShane is director of national research at EdChoice. He is also an adjunct scholar in education policy at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute. Andy Smarick is director of the civil society, education and work program at the R Street Institute.

Acknowledgments Introduction Michael Q. McShane and Andy Smarick Chapter 1: Rural Poverty and the Federal Safety Net: Implications for Rural Educators Angela Rachidi Chapter 2: African-American Education in Rural Communities in the Deep South: Making the Impossible Possible Sheneka M. Williams Chapter 3: From Basketball to Overdose Capital: The Story of Rural America, Schools, and the Opioid Crisis Clayton Hale and Sally Satel Chapter 4: The Power of Place: Rural Identity and the Politics of Rural School Reform Sara Dahill-Brown and Ashley Jochim Chapter 5: A Statistical Portrait of Rural Education in America Nat Malkus Chapter 6: School Finance in Rural America James V. Shuls Chapter 7: Staffing Americas Rural Schools Daniel Player and Aliza Husain Chapter 8: Right Place, Right Time: The Potential of Rural Charter Schools Juliet Squire Conclusion Michael Q. McShane and Andy Smarick About the Editors About the Contributors