In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…

Many U.S. public school systems now face three large demographic shifts: rising poverty, the growing number of students from immigrant families, and increasing populations of students of color. Yet, we know little about how district policymakers react to these important changes or indeed the factors that consistently shape their policymaking.…

A detailed regional profile that compares rural and urban populations of seven North Central states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) is presented in this report. Following an overview of the report, sources, and definitions, the next eight sections discuss the region as a whole and each of the seven states by…

Over the past several years significant changes have occurred in longstanding patterns of population growth within Wisconsin. Before 1960, growth occurred primarily in and around major metropolitan areas. In the 1970's a growth revival took place in nonmetropolitan counties. This, along with a sharp decline in urban growth, allowed rural growth to…

Population growth rates in the 1950-1975 period indicate that metropolitan and nonmetropolitan streams of migration are of virtually the same magnitude in Wisconsin; metropolitan residents are moving to nonmetropolitan places as frequently as their nonmetropolitan counterparts are migrating to metropolitan communities. When migration streams are…