Environmental Education Model in Coalfields Virginia

St. Paul, VA, high school students at the Wetlands Estonoa Learning Center are steeped every day in a rich, interactive, learning environment through a long-running, student-driven project that doubles as both an outdoor classroom and a functioning wetland that helps maintain clean water in the Clinch River watershed, one of the most biodiverse river systems in North America.

East Kentucky Schools “Race to the Top”

In Dec. 2013, the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) received a $30 million Race to the Top grant from the US Department of Education to carry out the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative.  ARI is a collaboration between 17 school districts and numerous regional organizations all committed to putting students first, improving educational outcomes, and developing a […]

New Opportunity School for Women – Bringing Out Potential

Women in Central Appalachia are more likely to struggle with unemployment and a lack of educational opportunities than are their male counterparts or than women in many other parts of the country. But a small non-profit called the New Opportunity School for Women has spent the past quarter century working to assist women from Central […]