In 1997, the General Assembly adopted the "Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997" (HB 1), a bold and visionary act to reform Kentucky's public system of higher education. This piece of legislation established broad goals for increasing educational attainment at all levels, and charged the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary…

Using data gathered from students attending Southeast Community and Technical College in Harlan County, Kentucky, this article discusses how a commitment to place informs and shapes rural students' decisions around post-secondary education, career, and residence. Though some students connected advanced education with rural outmigration, other…

Twenty-seven five-year-olds walk into kindergarten on the first day of school in southeastern Kentucky. On average, nine of those children live in poverty, two were born to mothers who did not complete high school, two were removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, and fourteen are from single-parent homes: this according to statistics…

Recreation is any voluntary activity that is enjoyable and fun. Recreation refreshes, revitalizes and improves a person's quality of life. Consider some recreation activity you may have an interest in. Suppose you are interested in gardening but have never tried it. Let's take a look at how you can learn about it, do it, and in the process get…

Examines three of the changes wrought by coal mining: (1) the miner's working conditions; (2) the establishment of company towns; and (3) the violence that ensued when miners from Harlan County, Kentucky, referred to as "Bloody Harlan," tried to better their lives by joining labor unions. (CMK)

Looks at Commission on Religion in Appalachia (CORA) programs uniting 23 church denominations behind social and volunteer projects designed to improve quality of rural life. Describes CORA and its projects. (TES)

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…

Prepared by the national professional association of education reporters, this publication contains five articles that emphasize stories about mothers' crucial roles in their children's literacy. Reporters in five different parts of the United States sought out and interviewed young mothers with school-age children. "An Overview: Mothers'…

This final report describes a 5-year Kentucky project to improve integrated educational services and life quality of children and youth with severe disabilities, including students with deaf-blindness. Project objectives focus on the identification and removal of barriers to effective integrated programs; the provision of educational services on…