My students have been working on podcasts. I have one group that has created a podcast called, “No Man’s Land.” This podcast deas with women’s issues. For example, their first podcast focused on women’s access to birth control. Another podcast done by a pair of students is called “OfficiallyL8.” In this podcast, we hear the students talk about…Read More

I have been teaching a Journalism class for 26 years. In my early years at Fleming-Neon High School, the class mainly focused on creating and selling the school yearbook. If we were lucky, we were able to produce […]

Holler Out Loud

Head of the Holler, KVEC, Transmedia

December 11, 2017

0

I have been teaching a Journalism class for 26 years. In my early years at Fleming-Neon High School, the class mainly focused on creating and selling the school yearbook. If we were lucky, we were able to produce a...

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Rebecca Potter
Letcher County Central High School

This year I am again working with Dr. Michael Melton to continue to document the people of our area. Last year’s documentary turned out better than we thought with our lack of experience. This year we have a little more experience under our belts and hope to involve more and more students. We…Read More

These are the best days of our lives they say. 700 days, from first day of freshman year to the last day of senior year. Wow, how the time has flown and drug on all at the same time. Over those 700 days, how many […]

Here's To The Class of 2017!

ARI, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

May 23, 2017

0

These are the best days of our lives they say. 700 days, from first day of freshman year to the last day of senior year. Wow, how the time has flown and drug on all at the same time....

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With the grant my classroom received this year, we created a documentary featuring individuals from our community. We hoped our video would help to dispel the negative stereotypes bestowed upon our region. We also hoped to teach the students 21st century skills that they could carry into their college career and their future vocation. This grant…Read More

April, the fourth month of the year. Mostly known for humid rainy days, unless you’re in Kentucky you may see some snow. But this month is significant to me for other reasons. This month has always held a s […]

April is Child Abuse Awareness Month

Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

April 19, 2017

0

April, the fourth month of the year. Mostly known for humid rainy days, unless you’re in Kentucky you may see some snow. But this month is significant to me for other reasons. This month has always held a special...

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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 l […]

KVEC's ARI FIRE Summit Set to Host over 1,000 Educators and Leaders

ARI, Featured, Highlights

April 10, 2017

0

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...

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The second It’s Good to be Young in the Mountains conference is coming to Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College Cumberland campus [700 College Road, Cumberland, Kentucky] on April 21-23, 2017. The c […]

It’s Good to be Young in the Mountains Returns to Harlan County

Featured, Highlights

March 29, 2017

0

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...

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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 […]

LCC Communications Class Develops Photography Skills

ARI, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

February 27, 2017

0

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...

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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 Comm […]

Picture Project

ARI, FIREshare-fellows

February 27, 2017

0

  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...

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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 pictu […]

Picture Project

ARI, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

February 27, 2017

0

  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...

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¡Grita Fuerte! Spanish Livestreams on Food, Weather, and School Life

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 […]

Community Harm Reduction Efforts Toward Clean Needle Exchanges

Featured, Highlights, KVEC, Links

February 21, 2017

0

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...

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Still Life Shot

Looking at books and finding new ones or reading old ones, I am able to keep myself calm. This dedication in the book “The Problem With Forever” helps me know that I can have a quiet voice and […]

Picture Project

FIREshare-fellows

February 20, 2017

0

Still Life Shot Looking at books and finding new ones or reading old ones, I am able to keep myself calm. This dedication in the book “The Problem With Forever” helps me know that I can have a quiet...

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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 […]

Picture Project

FIREshare-fellows

February 20, 2017

0

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...

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Flower Shot

My grandmother and I planted these flowers years ago, and every year they bloom brighter and fuller

Still Life

My cat has always loved sitting in the win […]

Picture Project

FIREshare-fellows

February 20, 2017

0

Flower Shot My grandmother and I planted these flowers years ago, and every year they bloom brighter and fuller         Still Life My cat has always loved sitting in the windowsill           Environmental Shot These are the remains of the wood my father gathered before every...

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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 […]

FIREcast TV: Students Turn Winter Garden into Community Improvement Project

ARI, ARI Innovations Mini Grant, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights, KVEC, Video

February 15, 2017

0

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. 

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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 sca […]

East Kentucky needs leaders, citizens who aren’t afraid to dream bigger

ARI, Featured, Highlights

February 13, 2017

0

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...

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http://asiasociety.org/education/global-competence

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 […]

LCC & FIREshare Student's Essay Featured on Here & Now: NPR

ARI, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

January 23, 2017

0

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 &...

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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 […]

¡Grita Fuerte! Spanish Livestreams on Food, Weather, and School Life

ARI, Featured, Highlights, Holler, Links, Tech Tuesdays, Video

January 17, 2017

1

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...

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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 bu […]

Short Film Workshops Open to Young People This Month

Featured, Highlights

January 12, 2017

0

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...

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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 […]

My Hometown

ARI, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

January 12, 2017

0

  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...

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@dpage All that tiny house photos are great Don! Can you put them in the Building it Forward Holler?

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 […]

Kentucky Poet Laureate Inspires Poetry of Place

ARI, Featured, Highlights, Holler

January 10, 2017

0

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...

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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 […]

KVEC to Host Press Luncheon

ARI

January 9, 2017

0

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...

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How many Santa Clauses have you seen in a house during the holiday season, one or two? Maybe five or six? How about 1,315? Well, Mrs. Alice Mason from Highway 931 has 1,315 Santa Clauses in and around her h […]

Santa Made His Stop on Highway 931 North

ARI, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

January 2, 2017

0

How many Santa Clauses have you seen in a house during the holiday season, one or two? Maybe five or six? How about 1,315? Well, Mrs. Alice Mason from Highway 931 has 1,315 Santa Clauses in and around her home. Alice...

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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 a […]

New Tech Training Program Path to College & Careers Accepting Applications

Featured, Highlights, Links

December 29, 2016

0

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...

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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 Inn […]

Reason to Celebrate: 2016 Annual Holler Highlights

ARI, Digital Promise, Featured, Highlights, Holler, Links, Podcasts, Promising Practices, Stories, Tech Tuesdays, Video, Virtual Art Gallery

December 20, 2016

1

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...

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Chaos. Love. Laughter. These are a few words that describe aspects of my family. My family is a big factor of my life. Each member of my family holds a special place in my heart.
My mother is my rock, my best […]

My Heart and Soul

ARI, FIREshare-fellows

December 20, 2016

0

Chaos. Love. Laughter. These are a few words that describe aspects of my family. My family is a big factor of my life. Each member of my family holds a special place in my heart. My mother is my rock,...

Read More

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 […]

Spirits of Christmas

ARI, Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

December 16, 2016

0

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...

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“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 […]

Telehealth Supports Student Wellness in Knott County

ARI, Featured, Highlights, Tech Tuesdays, Video

December 15, 2016

0

"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...

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Christmas Future: I hope to always keep family close, especially during Christmas! Family is the most important part of Christmas to me!

Christmas present: This Christmas my sister and I put up our own tree. It was really fun because we got to pick out new ornaments and use old ones!

Christmas future. You’re probably wondering why there’s just a picture of isom. I grew up in isom and plan on spending every Christmas season there for as long as I can, I’ve learned so much there through out the years, I truly hate to leave it

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 […]

Blue Box Project: Bringing Kindness to an Eastern Kentucky High School

Featured, FIREshare-fellows, Highlights

December 14, 2016

0

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...

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Christmas Past: The best Christmas was four years ago, when my baby sister Lainey was born. I couldn’t imagine having Christmas without her now. That year was my favorite Christmas!

Christmas present. This year for Christmas we get to experience it with my mother’s new German Shepard puppy named magnum, this is the first Christmas I’ve ever spent with a new pet and I’m sure it’ll be a great one

Christmas past. This is the first whitesburg Christmas parade I ever participated in, as a senior in highschool I will never be able to do this ever again, and is something I’ve looked forward to ever since I started marching band. This is a memory that I will cherish forever

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 […]

Challenger Center of Kentucky Hosts FIRST LEGO League Regional Robotics Competition

ARI, Featured, Highlights, Tech Tuesdays

December 12, 2016

0

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...

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