The Des Moines Register‘s documentary about the changes and decline of rural Iowa’s school districts airs on Iowa Public Television at 7 tonight. Former North Tama principal Nick Pace is among those interviewed.
In conjunction with that, Iowa Public Radio interviewed reporter Jason Clayworth, photographer Charlie Litchfield, and a small-school shared superintendent in southwestern Iowa. (Sidney is misspelled in the chatter.) The interview is about 50 minutes long.
Sunday’s Register had a “what does it all mean” type of piece, and as far as ISU economist David Swenson is concerned, we’re past the point of no return. Former opinion writer Richard Doak also wrote about it, and for the most part avoided a broadside against rural Iowa.
(For the record, I was not consulted, aside from the very beginning of the project when I floated/agreed with Corwith-Wesley and Southeast Webster-Grand/Prairie Valley as potential candidates to be covered.)
Plug and reminder: My timeline of changes to Iowa school districts over the past 30 years gets updated after I dig up new information or when things happen.