Education Service Agencies Supporting Rural Schools

An article in the March 2006 issue of "The School Administrator" describes the ways intermediate school districts are providing support to rural districts. Author Hobart Harmon uses examples from across the country to the value of educational service units. Some examples:

"Heywood Cordy, superintendent in Jenkins County, Ga., relies on the Teacher Alternative Preparation program offered by the Central Savannah River Area Regional Educational Service Agency. His district hired seven teachers who completed the RESA program in the past year. 'The bottom line is without the RESA pool of teaching candidates our students would have a sub in the classroom, rather than a high-quality, full-time teacher,' Cordy says."
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"As superintendent of the 715-student Northeast Community School District in Goose Lake, Iowa, Jim Cox relies on the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency to adequately serve students with disabilities. The service agency has the capacity to hire high-caliber educators to serve on a regional basis. Cox finds the agency also does an excellent job in keeping school district personnel informed of new regulations and the latest research regarding special education services and issues."
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"In Washington state, Educational Service District 112 makes available an NCLB Communication Toolkit to its 30 school districts. It includes sample letters, forms, news releases and Q&A sheets to help educators talk easily and accurately with parents and community members about the law. 'It is one of many resources available from ESD 112 that saves us time and money,' says Jim Saltness, superintendent of the Stevenson-Carson School District in Stevenson, Wash."

Hobart's article is a nice contribution to our understanding of how education service agencies are supporting rural schools. You can view the article on the American Association of School Administrators website at http://www.aasa.org/publications/saarticledetail.cfm?ItemNumber=5450&snItemNumber=&tnItemNumber=