In this article, the author presents effective leaders of rural school districts who find assistance that overcomes the barriers of scarce human and financial resources for their students, faculty and community. One of them is Robert Falk, superintendent of the 768-student Otto-Eldred School District in Duke Center, Pennsylvania, who taps regularly into the potential of his educational service agency in the mountainous north-central region of Pennsylvania. Like many superintendents of small, rural school districts, Falk personally handles most of the routine, district-level functions. Falk also uses the agency to coordinate several federal programs, management services (e.g., health insurance), and essential curriculum services.