A 3-year cooperative program between the College of Saint Rose (Albany, New York) and surrounding rural school districts has two main goals: to help rural Chief School Officers (CSOs) design staff development activities to meet educational needs of mainstreamed handicapped students and to improve the college's preservice teacher education program so that graduating students will be better prepared to provide services to rural handicapped students. During the program's first year (1983-84), 13 CSOs responded to a needs assessment survey related to program goals. It is planned that three rural regions, organized from 15 districts, will collaborate with the college through rural teams composed of administrators and faculty and/or school board members. At an orientation meeting in November 1983, generally-held concerns of CSOs were identified as: attitudes of regular classroom teachers toward mainstreaming, the need for inservice and the need for appropriate materials and instructional strategies for mainstreaming. In March 1984, a meeting between College faculty and Region I CSOs included presentations on rural inservice activities through the Board of Cooperative Education Services, rural inservice using consultants, and strategies and issues for learning disabled in rural areas. A College Task Force has been established, has interacted with the Region I rural team, and has begun to think about curricular changes. Assessment survey results are appended. (MH)