As the nation's population shifts, Midwest's schools shrink and communities suffer

As more Americans have left Midwestern communities in recent years, those places have lost the vitality and life of more than 2,100 public schools. As a result, Steve Rich of USA Today reports, school districts and whole communities have scrambled to survive. From 2006-07 and 2010-2011, according to a USA Today analysis of U.S. Department of Education data, the population gains were largely in California, Texas and Arizona, which added 1,133 schools.

The loss is not just physical. The mass closings, which often see students moved to other buildings in a district, can affect home prices and businesses and often take an emotional toll on residents. "It's like losing the soul of the community," said Terry Ryan, vice president for Ohio Programs & Policy at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a center focused on education.

Further analysis of the data, writes Rich, found much of the Midwest's school loss came in three states: Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. The schools that closed during the five years studied had served nearly 1.5 million students. 
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