John Jezzini – Rural Education: The Importance of Resources

Rural America may bring nostalgic memories of wide-open terrain, calm farms, and attractive or lonely small villages finally forgotten. Millions of children in non-metro regions encounter many problems, including high poverty rates and limited access to elementary school and other educational programs due to a lack of resources to help improve Literacy development in these affected areas. In this interview, we will discuss with John Jezzini the implication of lack of resources in rural areas and the importance of resources to developing the Literacy Programme in rural areas.

Q: John Jezzini, can you give an analysis or statistics crunching the specific numbers of the rates?

A: First, some statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly one-quarter of all public school pupils in the United States live in rural areas (NCES). According to a 2018 survey from the nonprofit Jezzini Learning Center, one in every four children in rural areas lives in poverty. Another startling revelation from the Jezzini Learning Center report: “One of the biggest threats to children development is poverty.”

The issues confronting poor children and families in rural America can be overwhelming. Children growing up in rural regions face numerous challenges, from increased adolescent pregnancy and infant mortality rates to continued worries about access to employment, medical care, and housing. Unsurprisingly, this situation extends into the field of education.

Having said that, living in the country does not guarantee a child’s academic success. Reports from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in charge of administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), show that students in rural communities frequently perform as awesomely as, if not better, than their urban peers. The NCES revealed the following findings in its “Status of Rural Education” report:

On the 2011 NAEP reading test, 35% of fourth-graders in rural areas received a “proficient” score, slightly lower than the percentage of students who received the same score in suburban districts but higher than the similar percentage of those attending school in urban centres.

Accordingly, eighth-grade students in rural areas outperformed their urban counterparts while scoring lesser than those in suburban schools, a pattern that was repeated in calculations. Students in rural regions graduate from high school at a greater rate than their colleagues in cities and roughly the same rate as suburban grads (80%).

Q: Can you explain further how the provision of resources can make a difference in the literacy program in the urban area?

A: Scarcity of resources and exposure; Of course, statistics only tell part of the story, especially regarding teaching skills, with some observers claiming that politicians and educators sometimes disregard pupils outside of major cities. The Rural School and Community Trust, a charity committed to spotlighting the needs of rural schools and kids, provided an overview of these challenges in its “Why Rural Matters” report in 2017.

Q: John Jezzini, can you give us a clue into these highlights you just mentioned?

A: Well, the following is one obvious conclusion from the report; Because they reside in jurisdictions where challenges in highly visible metropolitan areas mostly shape education policy, many rural pupils are virtually invisible to state politicians.

The analysis finds that fairness and resources are often lacking in rural regions, particularly in early childhood programs, teacher compensation, and school finance. For instance, the survey showed that just 6% or less of eligible preschool pupils are enrolled, even though states with high proportions of rural children living in poverty, such as South Dakota and Mississippi, are enrolled.

These results are, to put it mildly, troubling since most education and policy experts agree that enrolling in a high-quality preschool or early development program may be a vital step toward future success in school and beyond. A 2018 analysis from the RAND Corporation, which has spent more than 20 years researching the effects of early childhood programs. The RAND team examined more than 3,000 measurable outcomes from all 115 programs and discovered that 29% had strong evidence of improvement.

The study continued by noting that top-notch initiatives in remote communities, like the rural New Mexico village of San Felipe Pueblo, often significantly affect the neighbourhood. The San Felipe Pueblo strategy involves working one-on-one with families to improve parenting abilities, provide culturally appropriate programming, and provide general support for kids and caregivers as part of what is known as a “recognition that social and economic factors can leave an impression long before grade school,” according to a write-up on RAND’s website.

In other words, early assistance and intervention are crucial in rural regions. Even though the importance of early initiatives is recognized in non-rural settings, families struggling to survive in rural areas, particularly those with limited resources or living in extreme poverty, frequently have few choices for preschool programs and may have to rely entirely on organisations like Head Start.

Furthermore, many impoverished rural communities in the United States lack the resources necessary to foster children reading beyond preschool, according to a blog post on the Mailman School of Public Health blog at Columbia University. According to the site, the lack of books and a close-by library may impede children’s early literacy development, impacting their general health and future chances.

Q: Reflecting on everything said so far, what impact will this Literacy program have on the young people living in the rural area?

A: Initiatives to increase literacy might close the gap. A community-based literacy initiative was created by Jezzini Learning Center in response to the preceding circumstances to assist “community leaders and parents to seed their villages with books.” This innovative strategy aims to disperse tales and books across rural areas rather than waiting for kids to have access to books once they start school.

The tactics other philanthropists and I have been experimenting with include stocking small, standalone libraries, creating “StoryWalks” that “display children’s tales along a path,” and creating quaint spots for reading and storytelling.

Q: Is there room for Collaboration? Or are they any collaborations with the rural area you know of?

A: While John Jezzini Learning Center is still expanding to evaluate fully, other rural towns with innovation and community-based initiatives have succeeded. For instance, to achieve the objective of offering a “comprehensive approach to implementing improvements that last, crafted for the unique assets and needs of rural communities,” Literacy Intervention throughout Rural Communities through Collaboration has been collaborating with organizations like the Rural School and Community Trust.

Through its Early Stage to School Success strategy, Save the Children also offers literacy-based programs in rural areas. This concept is remarkable in that it involves parents, many of whom are having difficulty becoming competent readers as I and my team who help manage the program, described in a recent opinion article in US News & World Report. Greater resource availability, in Shriver’s words, “ensures fair chance for all Americans, especially those in rural communities.”

Q: What are your final words concerning the provision of resources in rural areas?

A: In the end, the precise details of many initiatives implemented in rural areas are less significant than the programs’ existence. Literacy campaigns, preschool programs, and the availability of resources might make a significant difference in the world, especially regarding children’s early development.