Education Districts: A Concept for Restructuring Education.

Overview & Synopsis

In rural Minnesota many school districts are limited in their efforts to restructure by low enrollment, rural geographic location, meager tax base, narrow staff experience, extensive job responsibilities for staff, restricted staff development opportunities, and lack of direction in curriculum coordination. Because of actual or perceived limitations, learning opportunities are restricted and may not prepare students for what they will need to do after they graduate. This preliminary report discusses education districts, a relatively new organizational concept. The 1987 legislation that enabled their formation requires an education district to have one of the following: at least five districts, or four districts with a total of at least 5,000 students, or four districts with a total of at least 2,000 square miles. As of November, 1989, 33 education districts had been formed in Minnesota. Education districts are to: (1) provide leadership in coordinating programs for handicapped, secondary vocational education, gifted and talented pupils, improved learning, community education, early childhood and family education, career education, and low incidence academic programs; (2) provide and coordinate research and planning functions; and (3) coordinate and provide methods to meet pupils needs for health, library, and counseling services. Educators must work toward merging services into a collaborative network to provide access for all residents to meet basic human needs. (DHP)