LB 682 requires that by July 1, 2015, any school district in Nebraska with fewer than 650 students enrolled in grades K-12 shall form an allied system with at least three other school districts with fewer than 650 students enrolled in grades K-12 so that the minimum number of students in such allied system is 1300 students.
The Allied system schools shall have a common daily schedule and common calendar.
As a School Superintendent with 21 years experience at the
same rural school, I can provide a historical perspective to the efforts that
small schools in Northeast Nebraska have made to collaborate in order to best
meet the needs of our students.
In the 1990’s schools in Northeast Nebraska formed the
Eastern Nebraska Distance Learning Consortium for the purpose of working
together to share classes via two-way interactive video. This is very similar
to what a law requiring Allied Systems would require. Schools in the consortium
selected from two daily schedules.
Each consortium school was required to offer one class for
the benefit of the others in the consortium. Many schools formed “pods” of 3-4
schools that worked together to decide what courses were needed. A common
school calendar was not possible because
of issues such as scheduling around county fairs. Over time our pod (B-R, Emerson-Hubbard, Wakefield and Allen) dissolved
as teachers and administrators changed and the system has now become statewide.We receive from Broken Bow and Leigh and send to Plainview, Randolph and Giltner.
There was a strong incentive to join the Distance Learning Consortium because
distance learning classroom equipment was provided through grant funds to
consortium members. If the intent
is to increase the use of distance learning across the state, then increasing
financial incentive to offer courses would be of great benefit. The $1000
currently provided for sending or receiving is not enough to compensate
distance learning teachers and maintain the equipment.
