Houk, Bonnie

The Southeast Kansas Education Service Center, or Greenbush as it's commonly known, started in 1976 as three employees in a small, vacant school building donated by USD 248 Girard. The ESC started on the basis that it would provide area school districts a way of accomplishing things that would be too costly individually. The five original member districts Erie-St. Paul, Yates Center, Riverton, Girard and Fort Scott Community College joined together to establish a list of priorities and form a board of education with representatives from each of their own district boards. The ESC has more than 200 programs and services and 500-plus employees. Services extend far past the physical boundaries of the Greenbush property, which has expanded to include more than 500 acres, four permanent buildings and a fleet of mobile education vehicles. Programs range from education in state corrections facilities and the provision of interpreters for deaf and hearing impaired students in schools to home-based education for parents of toddlers and pre-schoolers and helping establish mentoring programs in communities.

Since 1981, DEPCO has marketed technology equipment to school systems throughout the Midwest. The development and integration of manufacturing with technology suppliers has made DEPCO, which stands for Dependable Educational Products Company, a provider of technology education programs throughout the United States and North America. The Technology Learning Unit approach to career education developed by DEPCO allows teachers to present vital knowledge and technology skills to students. DEPCO is located in Pittsburg, Kan.