Workshop Offers Ways to Improve Ties Between Rural Schools, Communities

Worley, Idaho - A May 9 Rural Education Workshop sponsored by University of Idaho Extension Horizons will help strengthen and improve the ties between rural schools and their communities.

The workshop will be help in Worley at the Coeur d'Alene Hotel and Casino from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is a continuation of the Horizons program, which promoted citizen involvement in 32 Idaho communities from Bonners Ferry to Cascade from 2005-2008.

Workshop sessions will focus on understanding school finance in Idaho, providing opportunities for students to learn while contribute to their communities, youth entrepreneurship and the Idaho Building Capacity project. Other workshop sessions will focus on community public health and outdoor science education.

The Horizons program engages youth in meaningful work in communities. Last year in Kendrick and Juliaetta, for example, high school students planted a community garden and organized themselves to form a service corps to help residents.

"We want to work closely with Horizons alumni communities to highlight the relationship between healthy rural schools and strong rural communities, and provide local solutions to rural education issues," said Debbie Gray, Horizon project manager.

The workshop will feature innovative ideas from regional experts and Rural School and Community Trust, a leader in addressing the relationship between good schools and thriving communities.

Financial support has been provided by the Northwest Area Foundation. In addition to the Rural School and Community Trust, University of Idaho Extension is working with the Idaho Rural Partnership to highlight rural education issues in Idaho.

A new report released earlier this year about rural education in Idaho is available online at www.ag.uidaho.edu/uicsc/ruraled.

Advance registration is requested, and the workshop is free and open to the public. More Information is available from Debbie Gray at dgray@uidaho.edu or 208-885-4017 at Moscow.