School districts as constrained leaders in the WoW Bus rural early childhood outreach collaborative

ABSTRACT Rural communities are challenged to provide early childhood education and care due to low population density, sometimes lengthy or complex travel, and fluctuations in seasonal activity. Opportunities exist for stable partners, like schools, to anchor early childhood supports. Collaborative planning theory is used to explore a provincial capacity-building initiative (Success by 6) that provided local funding for a two-year rural early childhood outreach project, the WoW Bus project. The analysis shows that while community partners were enthusiastic and there was consistent family engagement, there were also tensions between collaboration and hierarchical responsibilities that ultimately undermined project sustainability. The collaborative planning theory lens, applied here to a social planning initiative, helped elucidate the need for legitimating accountability for outreach and diverse engagement. In sum, while schools provide an under-explored opportunity to anchor rural innovation in early childhood supports, a shift in funder accountabilities is needed.