Wisconsin State Sen. Romaine Quinn
Since 2022, Sen. Quinn has represented the 25th Senate District in northwestern Wisconsin. In 2014, he was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 75th district, where he served three terms and acted as Majority Caucus Vice Chair. Quinn was born and raised in Barron County. During his senior year at Rice Lake High School, he was elected to the Rice Lake City Council. He was later elected Mayor of Rice Lake at just 19 years old.Rural schools are unique because our rural communities are unique. That’s the starting point for understanding both the challenges and strengths of rural education.
We face persistent challenges that urban districts rarely think about. Teacher recruitment is harder in smaller communities with fewer amenities. Transportation costs eat up more of our budgets simply getting students to school. Geographic isolation means longer travel times for extracurriculars and shared resources. These aren’t just logistical issues. Rather, they directly impact what opportunities students can access.
Yet rural schools offer something many larger districts might struggle to replicate, such as strong culture and community cohesion. It’s easier to maintain a sense of identity. You’re not just producing a smart student; you are producing a well-rounded individual.
When it comes to science, rural schools face additional complexity. Offering advanced science courses requires specialized teachers, expensive equipment, and ongoing training, which are all harder to sustain in smaller districts.
But rural communities bring unexpected advantages. I’ve seen schools incorporate hands-on biology by studying deer anatomy during hunting season. For students, this isn’t abstract learning. It is real, tangible, and deeply connected to their environment. That’s science taught through real life. We live in a park. That’s our classroom.
“The success of the Morgridge program suggests that when students are given access, context, and confidence, they rise to meet the opportunity. “
One of the most revealing insights is about confidence. Programs like the Morgridge camp reach students at a pivotal moment in the transition from high school to higher education. Many participants leave with a similar realization: I didn’t think I could do this, but now I know I can.
Rural students often develop a strong a work ethic and resilience. One barrier can often be limited exposure to large institutions, lack of familiarity with pathways, and a support system that may not fully understand those opportunities. If you’ve never known anything outside your community, it can be intimidating.
The camp helps bridge that gap. By making environments like Madison feel accessible, students realize they can navigate those spaces. They can belong there.
Learning should go both ways. Urban systems often overlook the depth of experiential learning available in rural settings, such as outdoor ecosystems as living laboratories, practical survival skills tied to environmental science and deep integration of local industries like agriculture into curriculum. This perspective challenges the assumption that innovation flows in only one direction.
But education cannot be separated from infrastructure. Three key factors repeatedly emerge. Issues like the lack of reliable broadband access, limited housing availability and limited school funding and resources can make even the most innovative programs struggle to scale. Together, these elements shape whether rural communities can fully participate in the modern economy.
The success of the Morgridge program suggests that when students are given access, context, and confidence, they rise to meet the opportunity. Students can begin to see, rather than just being told, why science matters in their lives and how they can forge a meaningful career.
In the end, the goal isn’t just to bring rural students into science. It’s to ensure that science reflects, and includes, the full diversity of where they come from.
Rural Roots, Research Futures
For 20 years, the Morgridge Summer Science Camp has opened the doors of a world-class research university to high school students from rural Wisconsin. Through interviews with students, teachers, and experts, we examine what makes the experience transformative for participants and for science itself.