The purpose of this paper is to present an exploration on the response of parents of two rural multigrade schools facing the homeschooling activities in the context of pandemics. To frame a comparative perspective some conceptual work was done about new rurality and family structure before interviewing parents of both schools about distribution of…

In September of 2020, seven school divisions in Western Manitoba developed a remote learning program to support medically fragile families whose children could not return to classrooms. The coalition of these school divisions, known as the Westman Consortia Partnership (WCP), needed to investigate what beliefs, practices, and strategies were…

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened the tensions between rural community needs and politicized state-level school closure mandates. District leaders faced competing demands of meeting the basic needs of vulnerable families, supporting the mental health of students and teachers, protecting the health of all community members, and creating new…

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything about the world we live in, in 2020. It is having obvious impacts on the way we teach and the way we learn. In Victoria, Monash Rural Health Bendigo is one of the few places that has managed to continue clinical health education and clinical placements throughout 2020--albeit in modified…

Rural America is experiencing an era of unprecedented demographic change, as rural communities of color are growing--an expansion that is necessary for keeping rural America thriving. But racial and class inequality divides many rural places, threatening rural students' education and rural communities' well-being, and the current pandemic is…

Rural communities are not a monolith; they have unique challenges that require unique policy solutions. One of the best ways to understand the diversity of those challenges -- and, in turn, identify the most effective solutions -- is to hear directly from rural communities. This Special Report analyzes data from a 2020 Strada Education…

What works to help rural students succeed in higher education? In fall 2020, MDRC partnered with Rural Matters and Ascendium Education Group to produce a four-part podcast series called "Rural Higher Education: Challenges & Opportunities." The series gathered experts from across the country to examine the realities of rural life and…