Region 3

The Minnesota Centers of Excellence for Young Children with Disabilities is the statewide professional development system for early childhood special education (ECSE). Professional Development Facilitators (PDF) in each of the state's eight economic development regions work to connect, support and empower local leaders to build capacity. Through these joint efforts, young children and their families are accessing and benefiting from high-quality programs and services throughout the state.

In some instances, the boundaries of educational districts do not align with the eight economic development regions' boundaries. In instances when a cooperative or district's boundaries are found in more than one region, the district's PDF and service region are assigned based upon the county in which a program's leader is housed.

Counties: Aikin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis

Elizabeth Peters-Rust

epeters-rust@isd6070.org

Elizabeth "Betsy" Peters Rust has served as an Early Childhood Special Education Professional Development Facilitator (ECSE PDF) to Region 3 since 2016. Prior to her work as an ECSE PDF, Betsy had worked as a Speech Language Pathologist for the Duluth Public Schools for 13 years focusing primarily in early childhood. Additionally, She is a Master trainer for Childcare Aware of Minnesota/Parent Aware of Minnesota, and has led parent and caregiver groups at a local clinic for childhood language disorders. Betsy earned her B.A.S. and M.A. degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Minnesota-Duluth in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She resides in beautiful Duluth with her husband, three children, and pets.