The Rural Teacher Crisis
- Ragini Nayak
- Nov 17
- 4 min read
Old McDonald Had a Farm — A popular nursery rhyme at the heart of a rural setting, contributing towards children's early language and communication development. Yet, in many rural communities today, where teacher shortages and turnover rates are becoming increasingly precarious, a pressing question emerges: who will teach the children growing up on those farms?
According to Kappan, almost 1 out of 3 teachers in rural districts leave their position in a given year.. Rural teacher retention rates vary from state to state; some rural Alaskan communities experience annual turnover rates as high as 85 percent, but why are rural districts especially vulnerable to teacher shortages?
Vilas, a school district in rural Colorado, reports salary and the lack of financial incentives as a primary factor. The average teacher salary for 2023-24 in Vilas was $39,755, which, according to Chalkbeat Colorado, is "nearly $30,000 less than the state average." This is largely due to increasingly smaller tax bases and limited state funding in rural areas compared to their urban counterparts. Only worsening in the past four years, the amount of state education funding sent to rural schools per dollar of local funding raised
has dropped in 27 states. The majority of school districts spend over 70% of their total budget on personnel. When budget cuts occur, the easiest category to cut is teacher salaries or new hires. Inadequate salaries often make it difficult for teachers to afford housing, healthcare, and basic necessities.
Due to such financial barriers and geographical isolation, there are limited professional development and training opportunities for educational roles. Many rural educators lack effective training programs to grow and further develop their skills, learn new teaching methods, and best understand how to use new technologies. Nearly 50% of rural workers reported needing to develop skills to build a professional network, and about 40% reported having inadequate resources to achieve their career goals. Compounding this challenge, rural districts often lack adequate infrastructure, such as administrative support, which reduces instructional support, increases workloads, and limits upward mobility for teachers, providing little long-term career incentives. Rural schools often struggle to implement new initiatives to improve schools because they lack the capacity to meet standardized requirements.
Smaller staff sizes present a heavy emotional toll on teachers. Rural areas often struggle to attract and retain certified STEM educators for similar financial reasons, leading to fewer STEM course offerings. Rural teachers, especially if they are the only ones in their subject area for miles, can feel isolated from their professional peers. This limits opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and informal support networks. Rural educators also often have to take on multiple roles due to staffing shortages, including administrative tasks or social services. Rural teachers report experiencing emotional exhaustion and being overwhelmed by their workload. One study found that, on average, rural teachers scored 3.65 out of 5 for feeling "worn out because of [their] work as a teacher" and 3.35 out of 5 for "feeling overwhelmed because [their] teaching load seems endless”. Teachers also typically have to deal with the complex mental health needs of their students, primarily since rural districts often serve a large percentage of students in poverty and struggle with the proper mental health resources to meet students' mental health needs, increasing the emotional strain on teachers. The environment of rural schools may be highly stressful for educators, decreasing motivation to stay.
Despite all, we see teachers fighting against the emotional, financial, and social tolls for their students. In rural Colorado, teacher Karl Van Syckle shared that his take‐home salary was around $39,800, and even living in a converted barn loft 2.5 miles from his school, he said: “That pays rent, gas and groceries, with maybe $400 or $500 left over every month [...] My car has 147,000 miles on it. I have to hope it keeps running because I cannot afford a car payment”, showing their dedication to provide for the educational needs of their students.
Unfortunately, this issue is projected to worsen in the upcoming years due to recently passed federal policies. In the Spring of 2025, the Federal Department of Education eliminated teacher residency and training grants for rural schools. These programs, which often included residency models with stipends for new teachers, helped provide hands-on training and incentives to attract and retain educators in high-need rural areas. This policy only makes it harder for rural districts to train, attract, and keep qualified teachers, and Americans 9.88 million rural students bear the burden. As the supply of qualified teaching applicants has declined over the past decade, the district has increasingly relied on international teachers to fill vacancies. However, in September, The Trump Administration announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications, which gave employers the ability to secure highly educated foreign professionals to temporarily work in “specialty occupations”, negatively impacting the largely employed international workforce of “hard-to-supply” teaching positions within rural schools. Still, education systems are unfortunately facing more funding cuts in the upcoming school year; according to The Guardian, The Department of Education released that $1.1 million originally allocated towards the rural western North Carolina district was instead frozen, pending a review to spend “in accordance with the President’s priorities.” Together, these policy changes threaten to deepen the already fragile state of rural education, leaving schools with fewer resources, fewer teachers, and diminishing hope for stability in the years ahead.
Teachers are essential to our society, serving as pillars of education for our kids' future. The influence of an educator crafts young minds and instills proper values in their students– preparing them for the world, and equipping them with the essential skills to navigate social challenges. So how can we give back to our educators as students?
As part of the Orlando Book Bank, we believe that strong communities start with strong education. Our mission is to support learners and the educators who guide them, especially in rural communities facing education inequality. Through OBB, we work to expand access to high-quality educational materials by providing educational resources and monetary donations. With your help, we can continue supplying books, learning tools, and financial resources that empower both students and teachers to thrive.
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