Building Special Education Teacher Capacity in Rural Schools: Impact of a Grow Your Own Program

Few would dispute the importance of rural students in the broader community of K-12 learners. Compelling data underscore their widespread presence. Rural students exceed 9.7 million, account for more than 20% of the nation's public school student population, and reflect one-third or more of public school enrollments in 16 states (Johnson, Showalter, Klein, &. Lester, 2014). Acknowledging that growth rates of rural students have far outpaced that of their non-rural counterparts over many years, Johnson et al. rightly concluded "the scale and the scope of rural education in the United States continues to grow" (p. 27).The Rural SouthA multi-faceted analysis by the Rural School and Community Trust (Johnson et al., 2014) ranked the overall status of rural education in each of the 50 states on five gauges: (a) importance, (b) student and family diversity, (c) educational policy context, (d) educational outcomes, and (e) longitudinal. The highest priority needs, as indicated by the aggregated average of gauge rankings, were found in the following five states (average ranking in parentheses): Mississippi (6.0), Alabama (8.2), South Carolina (10.6), North Carolina (11.2), and Arizona (12.2). Observably, four of the five states are located geographically in the South (U.S. Census Bureau [USCB], 2014).Southern rural communities are currently undergoing dramatic changes in terms of their racial, cultural, and economic profiles. For the first time in more than 40 years, the South was the only region in the nation where low-income children constituted a majority (54%) of public school students (Suitts, Sabree, & Dunn, 2013). In addition, the South was the singular region in the country in 2011 where most rural public school children resided in low-income households (51%). In comparison, percentages in the West, Midwest, and Northeast were 44%, 36%, and 29%, respectively. These economic shifts are pertinent in light of the fact that slightly more than half (51.4%) of the U.S. population (2000-2009) growth was concentrated in the South (Johnson &. Kasarda, 2011; Parrado &. Kandel, 2010).Other changing demographics, such as race/ethnicity in the student population, are reshaping the way quality rural education should be delivered. The region of the country that realized the largest minority growth among school-age students over the 10-year period, 2001 to 2011, was the South, specifically, with Hispanics, American Indians/ Alaska Natives, and multiple races (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). In the five Southern states of Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, the largest growth occurred with Hispanic students from 2000 to 2006 (USCB, 2006). Clearly, demographic changes are creating a new melting pot of students in rural schools. Forecasting a national education dilemma, Johnson (2009) described the situation as a "train wreck waiting to happen if we don't figure out how to educate the new majority" (p. 22) of learners in America. By broadening instructional repertoires, for example, implementing culturally responsive teaching (Morgan, 2010; Richards, Brown, &. Forde, 2006), rural teachers may maximize their effectiveness with minority students.Rural ChallengesStudent success. Rural education has a legacy of unique challenges. Chief among them are factors influencing student success. In terms of retention, rural areas are experiencing an 11% dropout rate (Provasnik et al., 2007), a figure statistically comparable to the highest dropout rate of 13% found in urban areas (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). Moreover, rural students are less likely to graduate late (i.e., through completion of a general educational development [GED| credential or equivalent) than their peers in urban or suburban areas (Center for Public Education, 2009). It follows that academic achievement is lower among rural learners (Graham Sc Provost, 2012; Graham &. …