rural districts

How Rural Districts Are Using AI to Meet Real Needs: Lessons from the Rural AI Strategy Lab

How Rural Districts Are Using AI to Meet Real Needs: Lessons from the Rural AI Strategy Lab

Jun 8, 2026

Presented by David Huggins, K-8 Innovation Lab Coordinator, Mohave Valley Elementary School District (AZ); Jessica Gillespie, Director, Instructional Improvement–Innovation, Griswold Public Schools (CT); and Ted W. Paton, Associate Superintendent, Ionia County Intermediate School District (ICISD), and Principal, Ionia County Career Center (MI)
Moderated by Dr. Megan Benay, Partner, Implementation and Practice, FullScale; and Dr. Adam A. Phyall, III, Director, Professional Learning and Leadership, All4Ed

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How Micro-Credentials Boost Career Pathways in Rural Communities

Nov 24, 2021

What happens when a state has a professional learning mandate for teachers but no funding to offer them? Or taking any professional learning seminar requires hours of travel with no viable substitutes to cover the class? And what about adult learning in general, when the majority of workers in need are low income and marginalized?

Digital Transformation and Innovation in Rural School Districts: Leadership Strategies for Success

Digital Transformation and Innovation in Rural School Districts

Aug 3, 2021

According to a CoSN report, more than half of school districts and about one-third of public schools in the United States are in rural areas. Rural communities have unique challenges, ranging from poverty and vast travel distances to a lack of affordable internet access.

Ag-Tech Incubators: Decentralized STEM Education in Nebraska

Supporting STEM Education in Rural Communities

Jun 18, 2021

Presented by Chad Johnson, Senior Education Specialist for Nebraska Public Power District, Co-Founder and CEO of Grain Weevil, and President and Founder of Youth Engaged in Technology and Innovation; and Ben Johnson, Chief Innovation Officer, Grain Weevil

Digital Transformation and Innovation in Rural School Districts: Leadership Strategies for Success

Digital Transformation and Innovation in Rural School Districts: Leadership Strategies for Success

Apr 14, 2021

Presented by Dr. Peter Aiken, Superintendent, Manheim Central School District (PA); Dr. Amy Carter, Superintendent, Meridian Public School District (MS); Dr. Matthew Dillon, Superintendent, Petal School District (MS); and Dan Leffingwell, Superintendent, Noble Local School District (OH)
Moderated by Ann McMullan, Project Director, EmpowerED Superintendent Initiative, CoSN (Consortium for School Networking)

Leading Digital Transformations in Rural School Districts

Leading the Digital Transformation in Rural Districts During Crisis and Beyond

May 19, 2020

The current crisis has highlighted the disparity between students with and without equitable access to technology, especially in rural schools. While most teachers are being asked to take their lessons directly to the students’ homes, many administrators know that the challenges in their district go beyond whether or not students have enough devices to do their classwork. During CoSN and ClassLink’s edWebinar, “Leading Digital Transformations in Rural School Districts,” the presenters talked about how the COVID-19 situation amplifies the obstacles rural schools face transitioning to a 21st century learning environment.

Technology in Rural Schools

Digital Equity in Rural School Districts

Mar 11, 2020

The goal of digital equity is to ensure that all students have access to devices, high-speed internet, and opportunities to learn both in school and out. While digital equity is a challenge for all school districts, Dr. Beth Holland, Digital Equity and Rural Project Director for the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), points out that it becomes a very complex issue given the challenges within rural schools and systems. In a recent edWebinar, Holland along with Jennifer Austin, CETL, Instructional Technology Coordinator at Lac du Flambeau Public School in Wisconsin, Michael Flood, Vice President of Strategy at Kajeet, and Tammy Neil, Computer Science Teacher at Suwannee Middle School in Florida, discuss the unique challenges rural districts face when providing students’ online access to their education. Flood explained that when students don’t have equal access to devices and high-speed internet, it prevents them from having the same kinds of learning opportunities as their more connected peers.