THE CHALLENGE OF REVITALIZATION IN RURAL COLORADOConference for Rural

Adult Learning and Literacy

Context

20:80 population ratiorural to urban(Colorado approximates the nation, in this respect)

ProLiteracy has estimated that 45% of the adult American population cannot read or write well enough to fill out a basic job application—about 20% more than the estimated number of high-school dropouts.

Assuming Colorado follows the pattern, it would mean nearly 1.7 million adults here in critical need of literacy services—about 350,000 in nonmetro areas.

High-school dropouts in the United States now number more than one million each year. In recent surveys, ⅓ of dropouts cite personal reasons, but almost ¾ claim to leave due to lacks of interest, motivation, or hope. Indications are that more than 12,000 rural kids in Colorado will drop out this year alone.

Rural America consistently has higher rates of secondary dropout, unemployment, poverty, and earnings shortfalls than their Urban counterparts.

The “typical” distinctions about Rurality

Population diffusion (‘numerical inferiority’)

Long distance to resources, etc. Low political influence Narrow economic bases Reduced public services Culturally homogeneous (Hyper)sensitive to Change

Subtler distinctions about Rurality “Change” is felt more acutely in rural areas than in urban areas Persistent educational-performance gap

Less so in terms of high-school completions More so in terms of college-bound graduates

Problematic definition: which is the real rural Colorado, Vail or Granada, Ft. Morgan or Dove Creek?

Shifting populations, shifting economies Youth are exiting, retirees are entering Growing ethnic “diversity”—e.g., displacement of traditional networks, entry

of new groups “Service” industries ascending over agriculture & resource extraction Decline of “low-skill” labor generally Metropolitan colonization—e.g. suburbanization, environmental conflict,

ghettoization, etc. Communication disconnect—both technological and sociological

Cost of living in Colorado rural areas has been steadily rising over last two decades, while mean income has stagnated or decreased

The Needs and Assets of ruralites are changing

Digital literacy

Workplace literacy

Financial literacy

Land Use literacy

Health literacy

Post-secondary literacy

Social literacy (e.g., corrections

reentry)

• Economic coherence: if the types of available jobs are changing, who will assist in retraining?

• Overcoming intergenerational poverty: as dropouts increase, what capacity is there to mend its impact on families and halt its cycle?

• Split communities: if new “cultures” are arriving, who is negotiating the “translation”?

• Environmental competitions: if ranches become real estate subdivisions, who instructs land stewardship and traditions?

• Public sustainability: if rural contexts vary so widely, who will customize the curricular options to local priorities?

Adult Education is changing, too

Literacy:The ability to function competently in the

public and economic spheres, as it tends towards self-sufficiency.

21st-century learning will depend on multiple and integrative (not monolithic) literacies

Educating Adults: some Trends(stating the obvious?)

No longer the monopoly of “academics” For rural areas especially, a shared and

coordinated activity of diverse agencies and specialists

Providing for but also moving beyond secondary-level learning; enabling adult “transitions” to work, career, higher education, family sustainability, etc.

Multi-faceted, customizable, yet assessable learning contexts

Are We (nonmetro professionals) Ready?

1. Into the next decade, what will be our greatest obstacles?

2. What will be or remain our greatest strengths in the rural context? (+ can these be amplified?)

3. The ingredients for our evolution…?

4. Critical and necessary steps: how do we practically help rural families, adults, and their communities?

Revitalizing Rural

Scott BakerProgram administratorPine River Community Learning Center

Ignacio, Coloradosbaker@prclc.org