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As enrollments dwindle and colleges close, towns hope developers will revive abandoned campuses

Jun 1, 2023
It isn't easy to find buyers for typical cinder-block campus buildings.
Southern Vermont College called this mansion in Bennington, Vermont home for 40 years, until it closed in 2019. Now, a real estate developer wants to turn it into a luxury resort.
Henry Epp/Marketplace

Puerto Rico's school system braces for change: closures and charters

Apr 26, 2018
Government officials plan to close over 280 public schools, combine resources and introduce charter schools and a private school voucher program to the island.
Second grade teacher Pierette Hidalgo leads students and parents in a chant during a school closing protest at Escuela Elemental John F. Kennedy in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico on April 17, 2018. The school is one of 283 schools slated to be close on the island following population declines.
Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace

Why liberal arts colleges are struggling

Mar 4, 2015
Sweet Briar College says it will close at the end of the academic year.

Rural schools are struggling to keep the lights on

Jan 25, 2014
When rural families leave to search for better jobs, schools scramble to make cuts -- and may even shut down.