More than 20 percent of America’s children attend public schools in rural areas. The state of California ranks among the highest in rates of mobility among rural households and students who are English Language Learners. It comes as no surprise that students in rural Central Valley communities face unique obstacles early in life that can perpetuate a pattern of poverty, disenfranchisement and missed opportunities.   

The benefits of afterschool programs for youth are well documented. Yet, rural schools often struggle to reach the very students who can benefit from these outstanding, free programs. A March 2011 report from the Harvard Family Research Project called “Out-of-School Time Programs in Rural Areas,” reveals four major challenges rural programs must overcome: 1) higher poverty, 2) fewer resources, 3) lack of transportation, and 4) low staffing.  

Higher Rate of Poverty  
Children in rural areas experience a higher rate of poverty. Consequently, according to Child Trends, poor children are more likely to have lower academic achievement, higher dropout rates, and possess increased health, emotional and behavioral problems. Although afterschool programs can have a positive effect on these children, an Afterschool Alliance study found that only 12 percent of rural low-income youth participate in afterschool programs compared to 21 percent in suburban areas and 30 percent in urban communities.

“When you consider how the drought, jobless rate, and the economy’s domino effects have impacted poverty levels throughout rural Central Valley, you have to wonder how much more our programs are needed for children in these areas,” said Dr. Kimberley Boyer of Central Valley Afterschool Foundation, who provides support to rural afterschool programs throughout the valley. “A healthy snack, academic support and fun learning opportunities can keep kids safe, healthy and engaged in something developmentally beneficial.”

Fewer Resources
While funding is low for all afterschool programs, they are particularly sparse for rural communities. Afterschool Alliance reports that 57percent of rural parents of children who do not participate in afterschool programs indicated that programs were not available in their area, compared to 37 percent of suburban parents and 36 percent of urban parents.

In Tulare County, the Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District knows how to juggle limited government, foundation and business partner funds to keep their outstanding afterschool program moving forward. 

“Our afterschool programs are the only structured activity for children and youth in our community, other than home daycare and school sports.  Poverty is high and most parents work; so many children are not supervised by an adult afterschool.  We have long waiting lists at our elementary school sites, with the capacity to serve about 14 percent of students in grades K-5,” said Dr. Logan Robertson, Assistant Director of Community Services for the district.

Robertson adds, “There are only a handful of potential business partners in our community. Scarcity of resources is a huge issue in rural communities. Sustainability, however, is an even greater issue.  Our partners provide wonderful additions to our programs; but without a grant, our community would not be able to support an afterschool program on the scale that is needed.” 

Lack of Transportation and Geographic Isolation
Longer travel distances, lack of family vehicles, bussing limitations, the price of gas, and parent’s work schedules present real barriers for afterschool participation. An afterschool leader from Biola reported seeing an elementary school student picked up at 3 p.m. by a 12-year-old sibling who was driving the family car. While in Mariposa County, some students ride on the bus more than an hour to and from school.

May Moua, Program Specialist for the Merced County Office of Education explains, “We have significant English Language Learner needs in our rural schools. These students need assistance with homework, academics and social skills development. But because we are unable to provide sufficient transportation, many students can’t take advantage of a program that is specially designed to help them.”

Staff Recruitment and Retention
Rural programs are plagued with small workforce pools and out-migration of staff. Moreover, staff development is difficult from the perspective of travel and resource allocation. It is not unusual to find parents, relatives, school staff and even principals lending a hand with the program.

Angel Dominguez is a Fresno County Office of Education project specialist responsible for overseeing the afterschool programs in Kerman, Mendota and Golden Plains school districts. “Our main concern is for qualified and available staff. We have a hard time recruiting. It’s a constant battle,” said Dominguez, who also shared that a posting for a recently-filled vacancy had been listed since November.

The Good News
In spite of the many limitations these programs face, the Harvard Family Research Project report does offer good news. After studying the outcomes of nine rural programs across the U.S., improvements in the following areas reveal that good things are happening in rural communities afterschool:

• Academic Achievement and School Functioning – Social grades, attitude towards and engagement in school, academic test scores, school attendance, classroom behavior, school work/study skills/homework completion.
• Youth Development – Relationships, communication, behavior, self-esteem and self-concept, physical activity and health.
• Family – Parent involvement and engagement, family functioning.
• Workforce Development – Job skills, leadership skills. 
• Prevention – Decreased school disciplining, drug use and behavior problems.

Promising Practices
One of the promising practices in rural programming—easily adaptable to rural afterschool programs in the Central Valley—comes from Rutgers University in New Jersey. The Seeds to Success Youth Farmstand Program uses youth-run farmstands to teach agricultural science, business, life skills, food and nutrition, community development, and workforce readiness to at-risk 14-18 year old students.  

Students learn how to grow food and/or secure food from local farms, develop and market the farmstand business, understand the nutritional value of the food they sell, how to operate a business and serve customers, how to work as a team, and how to benefit their community by accepting a variety of government food vouchers.

Launched in 2004, the curriculum has been adopted by rural schools in multiple counties serving hundreds of at-risk students. Student outcomes have been exceptional, with a 28 to 40 point improvement on one set of pre-post test scores over the course of the program.

A Worthy Central Valley Cause
The Central Valley Afterschool Foundation is committed to strengthening rural afterschool programs. We invite business, community and education leaders to help these programs overcome the high rate of poverty, resource constraints, transportation barriers, and staffing issues by offering financial, in-kind and human capital support. Every contribution makes a difference.

Take the Biola Elementary School String Orchestra example. A partnership among the Biola Elementary afterschool program, the parent club, music instructor Licia Clark, People’s Church in Fresno, and Solunet resulted in a group of rural children learning to play string instruments in beautiful harmony—much to the delight of their family and community.

While rural afterschool programs in the valley fight an uphill battle, it is a worthy cause. Children and youth in rural communities deserve to realize their full potential. They are ill-equipped to end the cycle of poverty without outside support. We have the good fortune to help children increase their academic potential, overcome barriers, reduce at-risk behaviors, and open doors of opportunity.