Tens of thousands of United States school districts have been shuttered in the past century due largely to seismic changes in rural demographics as well as financial or educational policy pressures. This special documentary studies school consolidation in Iowa and the impact on families, communities and the state of the education system. In Iowa, more than 92 percent of school districts have closed since 1950 as rural areas become less populated. Vacant school buildings now shadow the landscapes in every Iowa county, leaving communities in search of solutions to the tough economic realities they face. This documentary, produced by The Des Moines Register follows two Iowa districts and their communities for one school year as they wrestle with the monumental consequences of these changes. The footage captures the final classroom moments of one district and unveils the oftentimes emotional reality that looms over much of rural America. The film also offers insight into efforts to preserve the remaining pieces of the nation's once numerically majestic educational system and the rural way of life that has been Iowa's cultural bedrock.