Education workshop participants at the First Statewide Legislative Symposium on Rural Development pinpointed trends, strengths, weaknesses, goals, and public policy questions for grades K-12 and higher education. For grades K-12, rural schools were characterized by increased enrollment due to migration from urban areas, increasing popularity with parents, and continued consolidation/centralization of school districts. Their strengths included close school-community interactions and good student participation. Problems relating to limited program offerings, poorly prepared staff, and a limited financial base indicated the need to establish additional specific programs. For higher education, concerns centered around the sophisticated technologies of business and industry and means of attracting students to available training programs. Thirty-six of the State University of New York's 64 campuses are located in rural counties, and vocational and community colleges are also available to most rural residents, but workshop participants identified a need for financial aid to students, better program planning and management, and more interaction between education and business/industry. Education's 2-fold role was viewed as preparing rural students for a changing world, and developing its generally unrealized potential for improving the quality of rural life. Appended lists, maps, and charts reflect supporting statistical data. (MM)