It’s no secret that rural schools have faced unimaginable challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Next, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania set out to define these problems, see how schools dealt with them, and come up with a plan to address these needs should they arise again in the future.
A report called “Distance Learning and Online Coordination of Services in Pennsylvania’s Rural School Districts,” compiled by Pennsylvania State University, is available on the Center’s website.
The report found that rural schools had inadequate internet access, with 58% of rural superintendents surveyed reporting that internet access had the greatest impact on their ability to deliver distance education. More than 80% of districts had to provide access points to students and nearly 76% had to provide teachers with access points or devices to teach online.
Resulting policy considerations have included increasing funding for municipalities or counties to provide high-speed broadband access and providing tax breaks for companies that bring broadband to rural areas.
Another finding was that rural schools did not have enough computers, laptops or tablets to provide one to every child, and since the pandemic, about a third of districts have expanded their efforts to achieve this.
One policy consideration was that programs should be created or expanded to fund these 1:1 computing initiatives in schools.
The study found that professional development required more support. “All rural schools in this study reported providing professional development for online teaching, but more than three-quarters reported problems including time constraints (66%), collective bargaining agreements (29%) and Internet access issues (20%). ”, the report read.
Providing statewide professional development in online course design, teaching strategies and technologies would help address this problem, the report said.
In schools, as in many walks of life, the pandemic has increased demand for mental health services.
“Respondents noted increased levels of stress during the pandemic,” the report indicated. “District leaders struggled to hire mental health professionals, social workers and counselors due to a lack of applicants for these positions in rural areas.”
Policies need to support and fund more rural schools and community mental health services, according to the study.
“Rural schools face staff and teacher shortages. Prior to the pandemic, rural school districts had shortages of staff, teachers, and substitute teachers due to location and competition with businesses and other workplaces that can offer higher wages to job seekers. During the pandemic, these shortages were exacerbated,” the report states. Along with this, cyber charter schools affect rural school district enrollment.
Authorities need to consider increasing “statewide monitoring of cyber charter schools to ensure they meet Pennsylvania Department of Education guidelines for instructional quality,” the report said.
The last problem identified was with the state and federal guidelines that are constantly changing, bringing real challenges to municipalities.
“Rural school staff were required to administer the changing policies and guidelines that were passed to them. They faced their community’s anger over these changing rules and mandates even though they had no control over them. Initial community support for schools has waned over the course of the pandemic, the report said.
The recommended course of action was as follows: “Change the Pennsylvania School Code to remove the 180-day or hour requirement for students and prioritize competency-based education to align with effective distance learning practices.”
In the report’s conclusion, the authors wrote: “The real problems facing rural Pennsylvania schools can only be solved by corrective actions that consider their real needs and situations. In the longer term, coordinating policy and procedural recommendations across state agencies to provide consistent guidelines for schools would help rural school districts be more stable during periods of extended school closures.”
The report’s authors were Gerald LeTendre, Ph.D., Peggy Schooling, Ed.D., Hansol Woo, Meredith Bannon, and Josh Almes, of Pennsylvania State University.
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