Announcing our new North Dakota Hub!

Rural Schools Collaborative is proud to announce our tenth regional Hub, which will serve North Dakota and the northern Plains. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with the North Dakota Small Organized Schools (NDSOS) on this new effort. Under the leadership of executive director ElRoy Burkle, NDSOS represents all rural North Dakota schools, and they will anchor our work in their region.

As a membership organization, North Dakota Small Organized Schools serves as an "effective voice for public education while emphasizing local control." In addition, NDSOS is committed to the development of thoughtful partnerships that provide benefits to its member schools and communities.

The work of our North Dakota Hub will focus on strengthening the bonds between school and community, rural teacher recruitment and placement, place-based education, social marketing and school-centered philanthropy. Our initial work will involve including NDSOS member schools in the 2018 Grants in Place program.

"I want to thank ElRoy, RSC Advocate Dr. Steven Johnson, our board chair, Jim Beddow†, and the NDSOS board of directors for putting this new partnership together," said Gary Funk, Rural Schools Collaborative director. "The vastness and expanse of the North Dakota landscape presents unique challenges to rural schools and small towns, but it also provides a wonderful canvas for innovative place-based work. I really think the North Dakota Small Organized Schools adds another element of diversity to our work."

The establishment of regional hubs was a key element of the Rural Schools Collaborative's 2016-17 Action Plan. “Hubs” provide a flexible and cost-effective infrastructure for the organization, and the relationships between the Hubs and RSC are mutually beneficial.

†Dr. Jim Beddow, longtime RSC advocate, board member and chair emeritus, and passed away on June 25, 2023. Read more about his legacy.