Learning in Peril - Los Angeles Times
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Learning in Peril

Young students sitting around a large tree outside a school.
Students arrive at the start of school at Alturas Elementary School in Alturas, Calif.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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In this series of occasional stories, we explore the trials, myths and realities of one of the most culturally dissociated parts of the Golden State — rural, conservative California — through its schools.

In small, isolated towns, life revolves around schools. Mental health support for many students in these places, which have a dearth of medical providers, comes through schools. Students eat their meals there, and campuses become evacuation centers amid emergencies like wildfires.

“We serve as the heart of the town, and if the schools go, the town will go completely,” said Anmarie Swanstrom, a superintendent and principal in Trinity County.

Rural schools are struggling to hire teachers and staff, in large part because it is difficult to recruit people for professional jobs in shrinking towns. Poverty and childhood trauma rates are high.

Even for high-achieving students — many of whose parents do not have college degrees themselves — there are unique barriers to going to college, including distance. There are few universities and community colleges in vast Northern California.

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