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…

The benefits of regional cooperation among small rural school districts are stressed in this brief description of the Educational Cooperative Service Unit (ECSU) currently serving 63,800 students in 104 member districts. A section on historical background traces the ECSU's forerunners, e.g., an educational media center established in 1965, the…

This volume of the study discusses different examples of educational cooperation and includes descriptions of several specific forms of interagency cooperation that have been developed in different States. Special attention is devoted to models of educational networks, including information networks in California, Texas, and Massachusetts and…

School districts in southwest and west central Minnesota have historically led the state in cooperative efforts. The Educational Cooperative Service Unit (ECSU), an intermediary agency that is an extension of the member schools, is responsive to school district needs and is controlled by the member schools themselves. In 1979-80 membership in the…