As families head back to school, many students may find themselves in a new school this year because their original school has closed. In the U.S., more than 1,000 schools closed in 2025–26. Professor Mara Tieken explains what's driving closures, why they don't always save money, and how they can reshape communities—especially rural and Black communities. She shares what communities can do when a school is threatened with closure, from fighting to keep it open to making sure the process is handled well when closure is unavoidable.

For more on this topic:

• Check out Rural Schools Open, a resource toolkit created by Tieken to help communities facing possible school closures

• Read her op-ed in The Hechinger Report, Shuttering Public Schools Is a Strategy That Rarely Saves Much Money and Often Leads to Test Score Declines

• Read her commentary in The Washington Monthly, Don't Fall for the School Closure Temptation