A 1981-82 compilation of population and school statistics from Saskatchewan provides information on the context of rural education in that province. Between 1901 and 1981 the population fluctuated, reaching a high of 991,000 estimated population in 1982. Saskatchewan schools experienced a 19.6% decline in total enrollment from 1971 to 1981, and a 24.4% decline since the peak year of 1969. In 1981, rural schools had 44.9% of total provincial school enrollment (91,834 out of 204,697 students). To adjust to declining enrollments, which are expected to continue through 1990, rural school divisions have been forced to adjust their structuring of schools. The major trend has been toward schools offering all grades and away from the traditional elementary school-secondary school dichotomy. Although different towns have made different adjustments, the trend has been toward maintenance of secondary school offerings and adjustments in the elementary schools, generally by closing feeder elementary schools and extending the grade range of central rural secondary schools, or by retrieving secondary students from nearby central urban secondary schools and re-establishing K-12 schools in rural jurisdictions. Some rural schools equidistant from other centers with schools have been denuded of school population by transfer/transportation of students to the other centers. (MH)