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...

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...

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...

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...

"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...

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...

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 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...

In the midst of Global Entrepreneurial Week, November 14-20, taking place across 157 countries, Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jenean Hampton spoke to student business owners in east Kentucky. Phelps High School team, PierSmart, won first place for their water filtration...

Since dropping a full album dedicated to his school and community a few months ago, D3JUAN13, has built a national audience. The teenage rapper from Red Fox, KY went viral overnight when nearly 3,000 people, coast to coast, saw the...

Watch live on Thursday, November 17th as high school students from seven eastern Kentucky districts compete for $2000 in start-up cash for unique and creative business plans they've created in the last few months. Kentucky Lieutenant Governor Jenean Hampton will...

#ARIpromise Whether you're a teacher yourself or looking to partner with students and educators on business or community projects in the coming year, Wednesday October 26 is your best chance to connect! The Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) Promising Practices Summit brings...

We met the group of highly skilled Spanish and World Language teachers in August, joining a new Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) Professional Action Network (PAN), Holler Fellows. Since then they've collectively won Outstanding Spanish Teacher of the Year, been appointed President of the American...

Special Holler report from Corinne Smith, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale My name is Corinne Smith, and I am an Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Yale. I am originally from Illinois, and grew up about forty-five minutes outside of Chicago. I...

Want Spiderman in your classroom? Or to help Spiderman deliver weekend meals to east Kentucky students? Meet Cody! My name is Cody Epling, I'm 28 years old and a Respiratory therapist. When I'm not working I'm a father to my...

With rays of sunlight and fall colors flooding the space in old Jenkins High School turned upscale Senior living, Jenkins students painted familiar scenes of their community. Art teacher Gina Sparks brought her Art I and II students to "support the project...

Wednesday, October 26, 2016 East Kentucky Expo Center * 126 Main St. Pikeville, KY SUMMIT.THEHOLLER.ORG Where do flight simulators, a mobile inquiry learning lab, student art & performance, cutting-edge learning strategies & technologies, 10 concurrent live streams, robots, and internationally recognized educators and students converge in east Kentucky? Every...

Students arrived to school before daylight and class bells to take aviation and aerospace courses in Pike County. Microsoft and Xbox sent weekly gaming data to a Floyd County classroom for statistical analysis leading to award winning app creation. A Piper PA-22...

World Language educators from all over the state gathered in Louisville this weekend for the Kentucky World Language Association Annual Conference. Among learning, sharing, and crossing the bridge to proficiency, the event's theme, the Association honored several teachers with an...

Eastern Kentucky web and mobile development firm, Open Box Apps, teamed up with the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) and Holler to launch the first regional K-8 game design challenge. Propelling project-based learning with the goal of introducing young students to technology...

We are so pleased to sing the praise of Appalachian Technology Institute leader, Stephanie Younger of Belfry High School, for her recent designation as a Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) Expert. Stephanie's work has been highlighted through Appalachian Renaissance Initiative Summits (view her...

Featured photo of Expedition 48 crew members Kate Rubins and Jeff Williams, credit NASA. What would you ask astronauts orbiting the Earth's atmosphere in an international space station? Leslie County High School students had to decide on Wednesday, August 31 when...

Kicking off year three of the regional program of excellence, thirty-four students from across eastern Kentucky were inducted on August 26 into the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) 2016-2017 Student Senate. The ARI Student Senate is a critical student agency component of the U.S....

A group of highly skilled Spanish/ World Language teachers this year are joining a new Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) Professional Action Network (PAN) called Holler Fellows. The Holler is a high-tech studio & makerspace which supports this online social learning platform designed for learners in...

Inspired by his high school and home county, D3JUAN13 (pronounced Da-One), an 18 year old rapper and visual artist from Red Fox, Kentucky self-produced and released a hip-hop album about growing up in Knott County and getting his education...

According to a recent feature in USA Today, young people are turning to more creative living and working situations to avoid debt. One of these trends is toward living in spaces measured in cubic inches rather than feet - tiny...

When welcoming the group of nearly 80 gathered Tuesday in Hazard, Ron Daley and Paul Green, both with the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC), shared the important role K-12 education is already playing to impact economic development in east...

Four teenagers walk into a community radio studio... You'll have to listen to this special episode of WMMT-FM Mountain Talk for the punch line.  Treat yourself to this hour-long public affairs program, featuring four students who are shaking up east Kentucky with their various...

Six months of student-centered classroom redesigns, technical project-based learning, on-campus gardening, leadership exchanges, and much more culminated in 150+ presentations on April 27 in Pikeville. More than 1200 people gathered at the East KY Expo Center, with an additional 5,000...

Students in my classes at Harlan County High School are able to take their learning experiences to new levels via Spanish class. While the school has a poverty rate so high that all students receive free lunches, one would...

This week the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) hosted a celebration and sharing of best practices on April 5th for 18 eastern Kentucky counties working together on Kentucky's Work Ready Program. A Kentucky Work Ready Community certification is a measure of...

Summit.theholler.org Innovation in Rural Education Where do flight simulators, student art & performance, cutting-edge learning strategies & technologies, 10 concurrent live stream channels, robots, and internationally recognized educators converge in east Kentucky? Every April and October during Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) Summits!  On April 27th, the East...

Wondering how a KVEC event you missed turned out? Follow our Twitter for live KVEC updates!  Tweets by @KVEC_ARI // APRIL 1: Imagination Library Launch, Elkhorn City Elementary, 10 am – 12 pm, contact Jim Tackett @jtackett 2: Imagination Library Launch at Healthy Kids...

Teaming up with Big Deal Media, the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA) and the National Association of Media & Technology Centers (NAMTC) are "curating resources for K-12 professionals." Their latest release on April 1st features "timely reminders, fabulous...