The 10 Poorest School Districts in America
School districts across America are struggling to keep it all together, as teachers, parents and students want access to competitive technology and arts and college prep programs, while government budgets and local funding are wiped out. Certain parts of the country have it especially rough, from border towns to Indian reservations to coal mining communities — districts that have been passed over for decades before the latest economic downturn. The following school districts were chosen to be highlighted here because of their unique plights, and to represent a broad perspective of the experiences underserved districts are going through. Despite virtual schools, free lunch programs, and government prizes, these districts are far from recovery.
- Dupree School District 64-2, South Dakota: Located in Ziebach County — the poorest county in America as of December 2010, Dupree, South Dakota’s school district has just three schools — an elementary school, junior high, and high school. Less than 300 students are enrolled in all three schools (total) on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. According to the U.S. Census, 62% of the county population lives in poverty, and nearly half of the population is under the age of 18.
- Brownsville Independent School District, Brownsville, TX: In October 2008, this school district got a major boost — a $1 million academic progress award from The Broad Prize for Urban Education. Graduating Brownsville seniors got the prize money to use as scholarships for college, a worthwhile way to divvy up the money, but one that didn’t help existing teachers or students still struggling. Considered one of the poorest school districts in the country, Brownsville is located just over one mile from the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. Nearly 98% of 50,000 students are Hispanic, and just under half are still learning English. And an AP article published on Houston’s ABC TV station website noted that the “surrounding Cameron County had the highest poverty rate for a county of its size in the country at 34.7 percent.”
- Shannon County School District, Batesland, South Dakota: One of the poorest school districts in the country is also one of the most stressed and depressed. In December 2010, the U.S. Department of Education’s