The pandemic has heightened awareness of the gaps in education quality between the nation's most vulnerable students and most well-off students. And the reopening decisions school districts made in the 2020-21 school year may have both short- and long-term impacts on the academic achievement of the most vulnerable students. In addition to racial and class disparities in classroom experiences, there are stark differences in how students in urban, suburban, and rural school districts experienced learning in the pandemic. This essay discusses how the numerous impacts of COVID-19 have resonated differently within urban and rural communities in Missouri and are apparent among the most economically disadvantaged students. Responding to the challenges low-income students in urban and rural districts face requires attention to the challenges these districts and students have faced. Data from the 2020-21 school year show the following: (1) In Missouri, 95 percent of urban and suburban students living in poverty were in districts that offered exclusively distance education during the first full pandemic school year, while 10 percent of rural students living in poverty learned remotely; (2) Forty-nine percent of rural schools provided food access to students living in poverty, compared with 86 percent of urban and suburban schools; and (3) Eighty-three percent of urban and suburban school districts offered students living in poverty access to both electronic devices (e.g., computers and tablets) and internet hotspots, while 25 percent of rural districts offered access to both; 54 percent offered only devices.