APPALACHIAN RENAISSANCE INTIATIVE'S FINDING INNOVATION IN RURAL EDUCATION SUMMIT On April 12th, the East Kentucky Expo Center will again be booming with the regions most innovative leaders and learners. Not to mention robots, flight simulators, student art & performance, cutting-edge strategies and technologies, student built...

The second It’s Good to be Young in the Mountains conference is coming to Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College Cumberland campus on April 21-23, 2017. The conference is a three-day event celebrating Appalachian heritage and giving space...

Through a series of assignments, Rebecca Potter's communications class (members of the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative's FIREshare) has been working to develop their photography skills by telling stories about their communities through the lens. Below are highlights and links to...

Pikeville Elementary teacher, Traci Tackett, tells us how her and her students use winter gardens to not only improve their diets, but to also improve their community.   For more information on gardening in schools check out the School Garden Holler. 

Rural communities miss great opportunities when their leaders and citizens do not dream big enough. One of our problems in not making “Appalachian Kentucky Great Again” has been thinking too small and scaling down our dreams and expectations. Congressman Hal...

Letcher County Central student, Hannah Adams, had a recorded essay released this weekend about the complications of letting politics divide our smaller communities.  Her article aired today (January 23, 2017) on National Public Radio's (NPR) popular show Here &...

Every Friday this January, local filmmaker Oakley Fugate, will be hosting a Film Workshop at the Boone Youth Drop-In Center in Whitesburg, KY. He will be teaching the basics of how to produce a low budget film. Fugate says he was inspired to host...

The Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative  cordially invites you and your organization for a catered Press Luncheon on January 27th, 2017 at 11 am. This is an event to celebrate the work of our regional schools, educators, and students. We also want to thank you, the...

It's the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving and Letcher Elementary Teacher, Tyler Watts, is busy sticking colorful Post-It notes to the window in the Harry M. Caudill Library in Downtown Whitesburg.  While most people are enjoying their holiday break by...

This is the season of giving and charity and a Letcher County Central High School student has set out to start a new local initiative to bring music to teens in need. Shoppers in Letcher County may notice boxes...

Thousands of educators, community leaders, and students gathered in Pikeville and via Livestream yesterday at the 3rd Annual Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) Promising Practices Summit.  The #ARIpromise Summit is hosted by the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) to spotlight the nation's greatest...

PETLL - Perpetuating Excellence in Teaching, Leadership and Learning is the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative's continuous school improvement program. Recently the creators, Dr. Jeff Hawkins and Dr. Henry Webb, of the PETLL program teamed up to write a guide book about the...

SOMERSET, Ky. – The first-ever Appalachian Health Hack-a-thon concluded Saturday at the Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Ky., with an announcement of the winners in various categories. Nineteen teams, including six student teams, presented their solutions to a...

Lee County School District joins Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, will partner with other leading educators, entrepreneurs, and researchers from across the U.S. Beattyville, Kentucky - Lee County School District is one of 19 new school districts accepted into...

Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative hosted their first ever Sumdog Mathematics Contest the week of September 9th-15th for schools throughout the East Kentucky region to participate in.  With 24 classes (414 students)  entering to compete the results are in and they're...

WHAT The Lieutenant Governor’s Entrepreneurship Challenge (LGEC) is a tiered business pitch competition for all Kentucky high school students grades 9-12.  It is intended to introduce students to a realistic competitive business environment, as well as promote business ownership and...

Back to School Tips for Teachers on the Digital Transformation Journey Going back to school is an exciting and busy time for teachers and school administrators. There’s a ton of work to be done, from creating lesson plans, to preparing...

If you have a tiny free spirited child in your home, Wild is the book to delight their imagination.  It's a fun and whimsical take on what it means to go against the rules of the "everyday" world.  In...

Hosted by the Kentucky Valley Education Cooperative on July 27th, 2016

As a new school year kicks off everyone is busy getting their k-12 students ready, but there are some new tiny learners we should spend special time preparing- our preschool students. The video below features a few helpful tips on...

Through the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative - Finding Innovation in Rural Education is a space for educators, students, and the communities around them to share the spark of what they are teaching and to spotlight how they are igniting a...

FIREshare Overview Articles/Blogging – Appalachian Mountains and My Father Podcast – Pickin & Screamin Video – Teens & Tiny Houses in East Kentucky Photography – Virtual Photo Gallery Other artistic mediums KVEC/Appalachian Renaissance Initiative Overview of organization and grant ...

The reviews are in and the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative's Summer Institute was a success! For the last two days nearly 350 educators gathered for KVEC’s Professional Learning "Agents of Change" Summer Institute.  Held at Knott County Central over...

Have you driven through a downtown lately?  Something is happening, the streets are full of people.  Suddenly our sleepy little downtowns look alive and active, buzzing with friends and strangers laughing and pointing at places for other people to...

Appalachia has long been a region known for the export of its natural resources. For too long, talented young people have also left the region. With support from a Race to the Top District grant, the Kentucky Valley Educational...

The Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative is bringing together 17 schools districts in rural southeastern Kentucky to prepare students and communities for the 21st century. With support from a Race to the Top District grant, KVEC is helping students build...

With support from a Race to the Top District Grant, the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) has brought together 17 school districts in rural southeastern Kentucky to prepare Appalachian students and communities for the next generation of education and...

Kentucky’s Appalachian Renaissance Initiative In 2013, the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative and seventeen member school districts in rural southeastern Kentucky were awarded a highly competitive Race to the Top District grant by the U.S. Department of Education. With this support,...

In today’s episode we take a look at KVEC's work with “Ripple Effects”.  The Ripple Effects proposal was chosen from more than 300 applicants as one of 22 programs approved for multiyear funding through USDE’s Project Prevent. The goal...

Over the last few years, educators, entrepreneurs, funders, and researchers have been joining forces to spur learning innovation in specific regions of the country and equip young people with the skills they need in a changing economy.  These “education innovation...

As the school year is wrapping up throughout the schools here in eastern Kentucky, we wanted to take a moment to shine a spotlight on some of our top stories from the past year. We are always excited to...

UPIKE launched their varsity Esports program in January 2015.  When the program first began the university was only the second school in the U.S. to offer athletic scholarships for students to join their program.  On May 5th, 2016 the...

Roughly 1,000 educators and learners gathered at the East Kentucky Expo Center yesterday to celebrate Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative's 2nd Annual ARI Action Research Summit. More than 5,000 people participated virtually through our livestream, websites, and social media to...

On April 27th, the East Kentucky Expo Center will again be booming with the regions most innovative leaders and learners. Not to mention robots, flight simulators, student art & performance, cutting-edge strategies and technologies, and over 150 interactive presentations & displays.  Students and educators have turned...

Check back to see the new weekly highlights from the site and visit theActivity Stream to keep up with the great work going on in the region. Be sure to click on the information below to learn more about the...