Want Better Education in Rural America? Start with Broadband

Nationwide, rural communities have 37% more residents without access to high-speed internet connections when compared with their urban peers. This becomes a problem as classrooms have become increasingly digital, says Kathryn de Wit, manager of the broadband research initiative at The Pew Charitable Trusts. “If we want kids in rural areas to have access to the latest curriculum, and to be able to work on their homework once they leave school, we need wide access to broadband,” de Wit said. In all 50 states, urban access to broadband outpaces rural access, and in all but three states, urban areas surpass rural ones in educational attainment. In the 21 states that are underperforming on education standards across the board, 76% have digital divides that “significantly disadvantaged rural areas,” according to Christiana McFarland, research director for the National League of Cities. “There are vastly different opportunities available to people based on where they live. We need more research to fully understand the true impact that the urban-rural divide has on education, but connectivity is at the heart of how we move forward,” said McFarland.