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Distance Education

Bridging educational gaps with distance education

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teachers and Students has identified distance education as one solution to South Dakota’s teacher shortage, but experts say it’s not a fail-proof solution.

Shoppers take in the holiday displays at Fiksdal Furniture & Gifts during the Jingle & Mingle event on Nov. 21 in Webster. The eight shops that participated were bustling with activity during the six-hour promotion. (Photo by Heidi Marttila-Losure/Dakotafire Media)

Collaborative marketing creates local holiday shopping destinations

by Anna Jauhola and Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media Some entrepreneurs in the Dakotafire region are banding together to bring more of the thrill of the holiday shopping experience—and those who seek it—into their shops. “The experience … determines how long… 

Angie Baszler, 34, has been substitute teaching in DeSmet, S.D., while pursuing a teaching certificate online. Baszler, who has both bachelor's and master's degrees in business and held a prestigious position at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., before becoming a stay-at-home mom and working in economic development part-time in DeSmet, said she and other moms may be the answer to South Dakota's teacher shortage issue. (submitted photo)

Mothers can bring experience to classrooms through ‘encore careers’

by Anna Jauhola and Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media Perhaps the answer to South Dakota’s teacher shortage doesn’t lie in recruiting this year’s high school seniors to the profession or retaining next year’s education grads within our borders. Maybe the answer… 

Consolidated celebrations bring new traditions

Editor’s Note: See related story here. by Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media with additional reporting by Sheila Ring, Onida Watchman; Kim Ehlers, Standard Publishing; and Ken Schmierer, for the Dickey County Leader Consolidations of schools and sports teams are common across… 

Homecoming could have a stronger call to ‘come home,’ expert says

Editor’s Note: See related story here. by Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media with additional reporting by Sheila Ring, Onida Watchman, and Ken Schmierer, for The Dickey County Leader The word “homecoming” suggests the original intent of the fall celebrations was to… 

Is this thing on?

Top 10 quotable moments from National Rural Assembly 2015 In order to be heard, rural advocates must amplify their voices through powerful, impactful statements. At the 2015 National Rural Assembly, held Sept. 8-10 in on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.,… 

Effective framing paints clearer picture of rural issues

What is rural? A table of six young leaders from across America hashed out the definition of the word “rural” during Young Leader’s Day at the National Rural Assembly in Washington, D.C. In a framing exercise, we discussed what we… 

Bus drivers aren’t ‘all aboard’ in many Dakota school districts

Though school districts throughout the Dakotas are diverse in many ways, troubles recruiting and retaining bus drivers are not unique.
“Every place I’ve worked at, we’ve dealt with issues with buses (and) transportation,” said 22-year superintendent Terry Eckstaine, who presently works in the Ethan, (S.D.) School District.

Rural post office buildings often rent for more than similar commercial property

When it comes to the U.S. Postal Services’ cost for renting post office buildings in the Dakotas, price varies as much as population, and the reasons for those rental rates can vary just as much.
“The government doesn’t understand these small towns … They’ve just got a rate they pay, and they don’t adjust it for what the market will bear.”