Appalachia 2050, and the Education of Appalachia
I came across this student website, which is a compilation of interviews that explore why Appalachia lags behind the rest of the country.
You can see the entire series here at Ralph B. Davis’ website.
Educating Appalachia
- Teach for America receives grant to help local schools, via the Hazard Herald
One of the big themes in the book is education, which means I’ll be spending a good deal of time considering the ways in which that terms was used and applied by my family (and others in the region).
This is more complex that you might consider, and I’ve discussed in the Education of Appalachia podcast.
In modern times, much of that historical legacy has been wiped out and replaced with centralized schools systems, which by and large have failed (although not always because of the centralized system). Bill Clinton’s Teach for America initiative was meant to counter-act some of those failings.
Teach for America came to Central Appalachia three years ago, aiming to help school districts in the region find qualified applicants for hard-to-fill positions, and the organization is continuing to achieve this goal by helping two local school districts this year.
Certainly getting qualified teachers into the region is important, but so is making sure students can afford schooling. In areas where poverty runs rampant, the idea of college is quickly becoming an unobtainable goal.
- Foundation for Appalachian Ohio Reaches $1 Million Giving Mark in Educational Investments with This Year’s 65 Scholarship Awards, via Community Common
The Foundation for Appalachian Ohio (FAO) is excited to announce the 65 recipients of scholarship awards for the 2013 – 2014 academic year. Students across Appalachian Ohio will receive $107,950 to support their post-secondary pursuits.
Other Links
- Broadband Summit seeks solutions for rural deployment, via West Virginia Public Broadcasting
