Time and modern education caught up with the nine pupils of Daniel's Creek Elementary School, one of the last remaining one-room schoolhouses in Kentucky. The school was closed at the end of the 1986-87 school year by the county school board, after much opposition from a citizen's group. (JMM)

The Southwest Virginia Education and Training Network (SVETN) is installing a fiber-optic network that enables the use of 2-way interactive television and that eventually will link 60 secondary schools and colleges in 16 southwest Virginia counties. Students in these rural schools can participate in advanced academic courses that would otherwise…

Describes the new elementary school in rural Hancock County, Tennessee, financed as a result of efforts to equalize funding throughout the state. Compares conditions in the new and old schools. Discusses the greatly expanded space, new technology features, the school clinic, after-school activities, and various special student services. (SV)

At Owsley County Elementary School (Booneville, Kentucky), the number of parent and community volunteers has doubled over the past 5 years. The school employs a full-time coordinator of parent involvement, has a parent center, and reaches out to the wider community with a monthly newsletter delivered to every county household. Benefits of parent…

Traces the history of the settlement school; describes cultural programs it now offers to supplement the county school system in art and music, day care, adult education, bookmobile services, and Appalachian folk arts; also describes school-sponsored regional writers' workshops, Appalachian Family Folk Week, and Appalachian Visual Arts Week. (JD)

Describes Simonton Windows' (Ritchie County, West Virginia) corporate giving program, which focuses on advancing education, improving the physical environment, and assisting those who are physically or mentally disabled. Its recent $50,000 gift to four area school systems was used for science equipment, computer-related programs, work-based…

Students at Clay County High School (West Virginia) get real-world work experience through the school's comprehensive School-to-Work program, now in its third year. Given the limited job availability in this poor rural area, the school supplements work-site experiences with school-based business enterprises, student construction projects, and…

Profiles Clay County (West Virginia) High School, example of U.S. School of Excellence in rural, poverty area. Explains positive role of school principal. Details successful attendance incentives and dropout program. Describes examples of community involvement. (TES)

A project at rural Towns County Middle School (Georgia) aims to make computers and the Internet integral to learning by providing every middle school student with a laptop computer and Internet access from home through the school's server. Funded by a grant, the computers were issued after mandatory training for students and parents. Student…

Community colleges in Appalachia are helping boost local economies and expand educational opportunities through the national Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI). At the heart of RCCI is a nine-step strategic planning process in which a community group moves from vision to action. Kentucky's Southeast Community College has promoted…

A public water line built in 1992 in rural Casey County, Kentucky, has spawned economic growth and allowed children at 2 elementary schools and a foster home, and residents of 110 private homes to have clean, drinkable water. The Appalachian Regional Commission has assisted hundreds of counties in improving their water or sewage treatment…

The article describes two elementary level basic skills programs operating in Alabama, one tailored for and operating throughout the state, and the other funded for 10 Appalachian Alabama schools by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The article details the way two schools use their ARC funds. (SB)

An interview with Susan Loucks-Horsley, director of professional development at the National Research Council's Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education, explores the importance of good teachers, deficiencies in professional development, rural problems, the importance of high academic standards, how the newer standards differ…

The Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative aims to improve math and science instruction in 48 schools in 6 Appalachian states. The three program components are "teacher partners" who act as resources to colleagues; access to educational resources, through a collaboration with five area universities and acquisition of telecommunications…

REAL Enterprises, Inc. (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) is an academic program that helps students learn the basics of starting and nurturing a new business. West Virginia is 1 of 17 states offering the program with the goal of preparing youth to take advantage of economic opportunities in their own communities. (LP)