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...

  Building Shot This building was originally built as a general store, but was used during the 80s as an auction house.         Flower Shot This photo was taken at the Community College in Whitesburg. Flowers are some of my favorite things to photograph...

  Environmental Shot This photo was taken outside of Eolia Post Office in Kentucky.           Frame Shot This photo was taken through the lens of my glasses. This is a picture of me from when I was about 5 years old.           Flower Shot This shot was...

Schools are epicenters of the movement toward healthier bodies and minds, as students grow to value their own health and lead their families and communities to a better quality of life. This was the theme of the Kentucky Valley...

Still Life Shot The still life in this shot is my grandpa’s grave. A lot of my family says I act a lot like my grandpa so I have his personality.         Frame Shot You can see that the live trees are making...

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 &...

You don't have to study abroad to learn to talk about food, weather, and your school life in Spanish! These world language learners in Floyd, Harlan, and Knott Counties are bringing relevant and accessible Spanish lessons to your screen...

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...

  This poem strikes home for me because the theme and the imagery automatically make me think of my hometown. Like the narrator in the poem, my hometown has molded me into the person I am today. I will take...

When Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear appointed Harlan County native George Ella Lyon as 2015-2016 Kentucky Poet Laureate mountain people across the state celebrated, especially those from her home community on the far southeastern border. She proceeded another revered Appalachian, or...

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...

Appalshop, Inc. in Whitesburg and Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College have developed two Accelerated Certificates to meet the current needs of local employers.  They are now accepting applications until January 5th to go through the new collaborative technology training program, called...

We've had a big year at Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) and here at the Holler! Congressionally designated Digital Promise and the U.S. Department of Education named KVEC a National Education Innovation Cluster, presenting a video series spotlighting the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative. Our annual Summits in...

Festive trees, gift wrap, and Santa Claus. The first thing that comes to mind with these words is Christmas. Christmas is easily the most popular holiday in America and everywhere around the world. Whether it be because of the wonderful...

"We believe our schools are epicenters of the movement toward healthier bodies and minds, as our students grow to value their own health and lead their families and communities to a better quality of life." -Sandy Hogg Kentucky Valley Educational...

In our society today, it can be difficult to find pure kindness and consideration from our fellow beings. We've become a world full of people who tend to think only of themselves, not batting an eye at those around...

The Challenger Learning Center of Kentucky (CLCKY) is one in a network of 47 Challenger Learning Centers which were started by the families of the Challenger Astronauts tragically killed in the 1986 Space Shuttle disaster. Housed on the campus...

Doug Adams is quite a familiar name within the Appalachian region. He is locally famous for his one-of-a-kind artwork that can be found throughout the small city of Whitesburg and in many of our homes. People of this region...

First it's the worst feeling in this world. The pain is so unimaginable. We expect our loved ones to live forever, when they pass away, it's hard to even fathom. The days leading to their burial are so hard....

Fall; a season that holds so many things that are near and dear to my heart. From spooky Halloween costumes to homemade food on Thanksgiving, Fall is a favorite season for many. Fall in Eastern Kentucky has always been my favorite...

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...

Nationally fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago, but not here in the mountains. Imagine an east Kentucky where every student understands basic coding and computer science.  What would this mean for our region? We know that whatever...

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...

This fall students in Harlan, Floyd, and Knott Counties are bringing Spanish lessons about family and the holidays to your screen. Whether you're a teacher and want to bring these short lessons to your students, or just ready for a...