Our #100DistrictConversations have been far-reaching in terms of regional, socioeconomic, and geographic diversity. Conversation #71 with Superintendents Michelle Osterhoudt (Margaretville Central School) and Stacy Ward (Roxbury Central School) highlights unique ways that rural leaders are choosing sharing resources and collaborating to improve the quality of education for their constituents.

Thank you AASA for featuring these two dynamic Superintendents on your blog. Their article on "Leadership Development Through Collaboration" spurred us to reach out and dig deeper into this collaborative model.

"In rural areas, collaboration isn't just nice to have — it's critical to our districts' survival. We have learned a lot as neighboring superintendents in upstate New York.

One of our first collaborative projects started small, from pure necessity: one district needed a physics teacher for a high school student who required the course to keep a scholarship. In our region, recruiting qualified teachers is nearly impossible if they are not already local, and most specialists will not take part-time positions without full benefits. The solution was for one district to hire a full-time physics teacher while we transport students between districts to access the course.

We have now moved beyond shared science teachers. In her district, Stacy runs a construction pathway for one student — just one, but that is one more opportunity that would not exist otherwise. Michelle has a grant for a broadcasting class to help her teacher create a new career and technical education (CTE) program through university partnerships. We are exploring shared special education resources and looping in other neighboring superintendents.

Small districts often have tiny leadership teams; Stacy only has one other administrator. Working together means we can bounce ideas off one another, tap into our different experiences, and access broader networks when we are both stumped. If we are attempting to take things from concept to action, more minds leads to better, more effective problem-solving.

Traditional professional development often means external experts or book studies. But real growth happens when educators collaborate on authentic problems. Professional learning that cultivates these skills is important, but often undervalued. When we are implementing something new, we need to loop in roles like transportation director to start thinking regionally, the school board to understand shared benefits, and fellow leaders and teachers to share different perspectives, which reveal our blind spots. Our NY state BOCES covers a lot of geographic ground and has been a strong supporter, connecting leaders through consistent communication, working groups, and professional learning.

Our school boards are very receptive to our collaborative mindset because they want more resources for kids. But even with high demand from the community, we must also pace our partnership so we bring people along without overwhelming our small communities. Schools are where people gather for evening programming and celebration. We cannot relinquish that sense of self in the process of building efficiency through collaboration.

With declining enrollment, regional thinking will become the norm for small districts. When we don't know something, we ask for help without pride."