“We have been one-to-one for a long time now.At the elementary level, most students have iPads, except for some upper grades.At South Decatur, grades four, five, and six have Chromebooks, along with both high schools,” Hocker explains. The district’s device strategy balances educational effectiveness with practical testing requirements, ensuring students can seamlessly transition between learning and assessment platforms. Yet technology implementation means little without reliable internet access. Burns identifies this as the district’s primary obstacle: “I would say the biggest challenge being in a rural community is getting access to the internet.”The community has mobilized multiple solutions over Burns’s eight-year tenure. “We’ve got the beginnings of laying some fiber in some of the outer parts of the county outside of the city of Greensburg. We have a couple of companies that have come through and have installed towers that they’re pinging signals off of.” For the remaining disconnected households, approximately five to six percent, the district adapts its approach. “We try working with them and in times of having to do e-learning or virtual school, giving them hotspots and finding ways to get them accessible as well,” Burns says. The district also adjusts deadlines and delivery methods to ensure no student falls behind due to connectivity limitations, recognizing that rural education requires flexibility alongside innovation. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL INDUSTRY Successful workforce development requires authentic connections between education and industry that create pathways from learning to earning. In regions where manufacturing forms the economic backbone, these partnerships become essential bridges that transform theoretical knowledge into practical skills. Decatur County Community Schools has cultivated relationships with major employers, creating integrated programs where students contribute real value while developing professional competencies. The district’s healthcare partnerships exemplify this approach.“We have a great connection with our local hospital and a couple of the area nursing homes, and that’s where we send students just as interns to our local hospital. But then the nursing homes, our CNA and biomedical program, those kids go in and they work in those facilities and get the experience that way,” Hocker explains. Manufacturing partnerships leverage the region’s industrial strength, where companies like Honda Manufacturing, Delta Faucet, and Valeo Engine Cooling employ thousands of workers. “We’ve built really strong relationships with Honda Manufacturing, Delta, Nipro, Batesville Tool & Die, and we’re just developing one with Resonac,” 250 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
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