Inequities in Rural Communities

AUTHOR(S): Sarah Henry May 1, 2023

Virginia’s Northern Neck is nestled between two rivers that lead to the Chesapeake Bay, rich in history with a deep connection to marine life. The
schools are smaller than most, usually under 600 students total, with a dedicated staff from and transplanted into the community. Students have
access to fabulous staff members; however, many schools struggled with equity issues related to limited access to mental health services, reliable
internet and postsecondary options. 

As a new school counselor who had been trained for schools with a wealth of resources, I knew once I started working at a rural school in the Northern
Neck that I needed more professional development and a community of school counselors working through issues together. I also made a conscious
effort to work closely with the principal and vice principal, both of whom had worked in the community for many years, to find ways to engage students
and their families. 

My new school already had interventions in motion, and we worked to design some new interventions to fill in the gaps and build better access for all
our students. The administrators’ leadership and passion continues to be a guiding inspiration in how I imagine equity work can flourish in rural
communities. All strategies mentioned below were a multidisciplinary team effort, from my strong school counseling department colleagues to every
department in our district. I plugged interventions into programs that already existed, realizing that context defined our approaches to success. 

Regional school counseling group: Becoming active in our regional school counseling group helped me get feedback, as well as stay on top of new
policies and how they affected our community. In this district, we only had five school counselors pre-K–12 due to a small student body. Once per
month or semester, we met as a regional staff of high school counselors with up to six other local counties. We were able to connect and provide
information on how our districts were doing interventions, as well as discuss ways we were implementing state policies or regulations. This was
particularly beneficial to us, as many of our students also transferred throughout the region regularly, so it helped us better understand transcripts we
received, as well as what our community-at-large was experiencing. Members were able to add issues to the agenda that they wanted to talk through
that were affecting their students’ lives. Before COVID-19, we alternated locations among districts. During COVID-19 closures, we met on Zoom and
talked through new policies related to supporting students. This space also helped us connect with neighboring districts on regional projects.

Innovative office hours: Communities are integral to the work we do as school counselors. To better serve our students and their families, we were
intentional about making our program beyond the traditional high school building. We did this by setting up tables at athletic games to use as office
hours. We knew work hours for families can make it difficult to connect with parents/guardians about their child’s progress. We met with them by
making ourselves available during times they were already available – when they attended their child’s athletic games. We set up tables at entrances to
fields and courts, creating office hours outside of our normal building, time and format. Our college advisor was present, as were other school staff
members who needed access to families. We felt it showed a commitment to these families outside of our normal hours, to them and to seeing their
students do what they enjoy. Not only did this improve our access to parents/guardians, but we were able to witness some exciting athletic moments
in our students’ lives. 

College information: Our high school aimed to also expand access to college information to our students and the community at large. Our college
advisors worked tirelessly to plan a regional college fair in our gym. Neighboring counties’ high schools were invited to attend the multiday fair, with
approximately 40 colleges from across the country. By hosting this event in one location, we had participation from colleges that wouldn’t individually
come to a high school 70-plus miles from a major city center since they could access multiple high schools at once. Additionally, our college advisor
hosted a series of drive-thru FAFSA nights during COVID, where families were able to connect to WiFi in the parking lot and get started completing
FAFSA forms in a more private way. 

We also knew college changed more than the student’s day-to-day life; it influenced families’ functioning as well. Some students attended in-state
colleges hundreds of miles away, and frequent visits were difficult for some families. We hosted a series of panels for students and
parents/guardiansto connect with others experiencing the same issues. This included family panels for parents/guardians and siblings as well as a
young alumni panel for students and allowed everyone to talk about the social/emotional and family life changes they experienced as part of their
college attendance. 

Relationships: We know access to resources and opportunities is often connected to established relationships. To expand access to higher-level
coursework and career-technical pathways, our school began to invest more time in building relationships between staff and students. One way we did
this was to hold “flash seminars” the day before winter break, where teachers taught non-course-related subjects (e.g., movie makeup, films of 1990s,
refereeing 101, etc.). This allowed staff to engage with students on topics they all cared about outside of normal school topics. Students and staff who
may not have ever interacted on their current paths were able to make new connections. Additionally, our school offered an elective open house for
rising freshman to see what their course offerings could look like once they arrived. Teachers were able to show their options in a livelier manner than
just having students read descriptions off a scheduling sheet. Rising freshman submitting their scheduling sheets often told us how the teachers really
wanted them in their class and they were excited to have a class with a teacher they’d already met. 

Internet access: In our district, we had limited direct access to mental health services, with a few resources 30-minutes away but most 1.5-hours away
or more. Telehealth appointments provided a better way for families to access mental health resources, but internet connectivity was a problem for
many. Our district also had limited access to reliable internet connectivity. To address the gap, we began opening our conference room during specific
times for families who needed to use internet services for their important appointments. They had fewer missed appointments, a better internet
connection for those services, more gas money and a more positive relationship with the school counseling staff. 

We also tried to include our community services board as part of our school during traditional celebrations, including our back-to-school rally. They had
a table like other clubs and departments within the school and were able to distribute medicine disposal kits to families who wanted those kits.

Partnerships: Our school realized that partnering with transportation, technology and food services departments could help improve students’
experiences while in school. 
The food services staff expanded outside of traditional school breakfast and lunch, providing snack boxes for after-school tutoring and a “second
chance” breakfast around 10 a.m. It allowed students to stay more well-fed and in a mind space for learning on the long days when students stayed
after for tutoring. 

Our bus drivers are awesome, and some spend up to 15 hours a week with students, depending on their routes. Offering professional development for
bus drivers to better understand students’ needs can benefit both students and bus drivers. 

Our school worked tirelessly during pandemic-related closures to increase technology access for students and their families. By expanding the
school’s Wi-Fi to the parking lot, we were able to allow students and their families to come to school during non-school hours, sit safely in their cars
and connect to the internet. Additionally, the technology department showed real innovation during this time and created mobile bus “hot spots,” where
buses were used to reach communities with limited internet access and provide technology support. 

My time in the Northern Neck influenced my work as a current doctoral student and future school counselor educator, allowing me to see the
importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in lasting change. Finding community as a professional with other school counselors outside of my
district and with my own administration helped the process of implementing projects in our community. We did our best to listen to the community we
served and answer their calls, even if it meant adjusting our hours, our space or our plans. 

Equity work means we must change our plans, which includes how school counselors see our roles in communities. We are all working to support
children and families the best we can, and if we partner with others, especially when we are working in small departments, we feel less alone in the
work, and our work becomes more contextualized and better for the school counseling program’s longevity. 

Sarah Henry is a doctoral student at The Ohio State University.

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