From chronic absenteeism and high suspensions to a lack of internet service and barriers to going to college, California’s rural school districts face extraordinary challenges. For many, these barriers are similar to those in urban areas but with far less public awareness. Through the multi-media reporting and visualizations below, EdSource describes this education divide and the efforts underway to help students earn college degrees.
Students who miss at least 10 percent of the school year are chronically absent and in danger of dropping out. It’s a statewide problem most acute in rural areas.
A window into Northern California's Butte County, where geography and family trauma often keep students from school. The problem has been magnified by the wildfire that devastated the town of Paradise.
View EdSource's interactive map showing the chronic absenteeism rates for school districts across California. The highest rates - higher than 10 percent - are clustered in rural areas.
Behind the high suspension rates in rural areas are family struggles with poverty, mental illness, addiction and parental incarceration, a dearth of resources to address those needs and underfunded schools.
Our newsroom wants to tell the stories of students and their families in rural California who are suffering from high rates of chronic absenteeism, and help in the search for solutions.
