This is the first part of a story by Jason Gonzales that appeared on Chalkbeat Colorado on May 17, 2022.
Sisters Shaelea and Ryanna Pruett can rattle off plenty of facts about raising cattle. The Fowler High School graduates know the ideal build for a bull and how to bottle-raise a calf. The sisters could try to make a living on their family ranch, tucked between Manzanola and Fowler on Colorado’s southeastern plains.
Instead, their father Dane Pruett Jr. stressed college from an early age. He worked hard labor jobs at a cannery, steel mill, and farms throughout his life, but wanted his daughters to find work that would provide them flexibility and financial stability and wouldn’t tax their bodies.
“He wants a more comfortable life for us,” said Shaelea Pruett, 20, who graduated from Otero College and will attend Colorado State University Pueblo in the fall. She wants to be a large-animal veterinarian, a high-growth field as an older generation retires. Her younger sister, Ryanna Pruett, 18, is studying at Otero College and plans to be an agricultural sciences teacher, preparing the next generation of farmers and ranchers.
Fewer than half of rural Colorado’s high school graduates go to college, a rate that’s about five percentage points below the state average.
The reasons are complex. College can feel far away, geographically and culturally. Colleges sometimes haven’t done enough to make degrees feel relevant to the interests and experiences of rural Coloradans. The cost can deter students unsure if college will improve their earnings. College recruiters don’t often stop at rural high schools.
Colorado is a highly educated state, yet has large gaps in which Coloradans hold a degree. The gaps are greatest for students of color and those from rural communities.
Fowler High School sees its students go to college at higher rates than the state average.
Tiny Fowler, with its lone high school of about 110 students, shows how rural communities can use a partnership among educators, parents, and the broader community to foster the idea that college degrees will contribute to success — whether graduates return to Fowler or move to a bigger city.
In 2018, 21 of its 25 graduates went to college. In 2019, the school sent 26 of its 32 graduates to college. And in 2020, when many students put off postsecondary plans due to the pandemic, the school still sent 14 of its 23 graduates to college. About half the students who went to college qualify for a Pell grant, or federal money for college students with a financial need.
Agriculture dominates in Fowler, a community of about 1,150 residents, with farms and ranches dotting the valley on either side of the Arkansas River. Just up the road, the Crowley County Correctional Facility provides some jobs. In town, residents can work at the bank or the market. Those jobs don’t necessarily require employees to have degrees.
Yet, college has been a way of life in Fowler for generations. Residents aren’t sure when college became a priority, although some say it’s likely due to early settlers in the late 1800s who sent their children to college to become teachers or business owners.
What’s clear is the college-going culture has persisted. In 1916, Mathias Hermes created a scholarship trust to help Fowler students cover living expenses while at college. More than a century later it still provides about $100 a month to two scholarship recipients.
“People who live here really encourage our kids,” said Town Manager Kelly Lotrich, who lived in Albuquerque before returning home with her family. “When they say it takes a village — it really does have that feel.”
The community expects the school district to ensure students can connect to more than just what the town has to offer, said Fowler School District R-4J Superintendent Alfie Lotrich, Kelly Lotrich’s cousin-in-law.
“There’s literally not a lot of opportunity here,” Alfie Lotrich said. “So it almost kind of forces students to look at furthering their education in some form or fashion.”
Some students leave after high school while others return after college. The education they bring back helps them become town leaders, like the Lotriches. They educate the next generation. They commute to nearby cities where jobs require more training. Or their education helps them start businesses of their own like diesel mechanic shops or use the newest technology to grow food and raise animals.
“It’s expectations,” explained Fowler Jr. and Sr. High School Principal Russell Bates. Those expectations — whether it’s behavior or how to prepare for life after high school — are taught to students throughout their school career.
For Bates, it helps that most educators at the school were once in the same place as his students. Many teachers are Fowler graduates, and the expectations remain the same — for students to fulfill their potential and ensure that high school is just the start. Teachers and the community push exploring outside of Fowler.
When Ryanna Pruett needed to intern at a school district for a student teaching requirement, she chose Fowler, but teachers questioned why she didn’t pick another district where she could learn about other communities.
“They are very encouraging in pushing us to go explore,” she said.
With limited job opportunities in the area, Bates said, everybody needs a plan. And college can be central to that.
“I graduated from here in 1987 and those things were non-negotiable then,” Bates said.
The Pruett sisters heard about college from educators at an early age. Their teachers had them map out how to reach their dreams. For instance, Shaelea Pruett said she dreamed of becoming a surgeon, and teachers helped her figure out how to get there.
At the center of many of those conversations are Donna and Mike Aragon, who have been a two-person college machine in Fowler for about 20 years. The husband-and-wife pair worked in higher education before returning home to Fowler to raise their family.
Guidance director Donna Aragon coordinates students’ plans after high school. IT director Mike Aragon teaches senior seminar and prepares students on the ins and outs of college.
Together they educate students on the costs of college, ensure they understand and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and teach them about what it takes to not only go to college, but deal with living expenses.
“We know every kid,” Donna Aragon said. “And we know every kid’s story.”
Mike Aragon leads students in a game of life in which students must manage their income, expenses, and life scenarios. The Pruett sisters said the game taught them a lot about life choices and managing your money.
The Aragons said teachers want to ensure every student has the tools they need to succeed in life and in college.
Former students include ranch managers, diesel mechanics, a Colorado State University Fort Collins admissions counselor, a video game designer, teachers, and accountants.
Fowler requires students to complete assignments in preparation for their future, including weekly job applications or scholarships. The school requires students to submit weekly job applications or scholarships to prepare them for life after high school. Every year, the school announces at graduation the thousands of dollars students were awarded to go to college.
The school also offers dual-level classes so students can earn college credit while in high school.
Those classes open students’ minds to college opportunities. Sophomore Anahy Prieto, 16, said the agriculture classes have allowed her to go to competitions at college campuses and earn credit toward professional certificates. She wants to go to CSU Fort Collins to be a veterinarian.
“I feel like my heart belongs there,” Prieto said.