This paper describes a model for a literacy program proposed for the Rural Education Project at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. The program would target unemployed adults, at-risk youth and others in a seven-county target area whose lack of reading skills hampers their search for employment. The model calls for cooperative efforts among the university, area school systems, and other community agencies. The literacy program would link up with community education programs, including those that offer adult basic education, job related skills training and vocational education. Components would include dropout prevention, basic skills, higher-order thinking skills, telephone hot-lines for homework assistance and increased access to college for low-income rural students. The literacy program would also encourage parent involvement through the use of newsletters, school produced videotapes, and telephone hot-lines for parents. The Rural Education Project proposes to raise literacy rates by identifying other successful programs, linking college faculty with local school personnel, and tapping into other community resources. The project would provide training, some means of program assessment, and a method for disseminating information among schools. Project personnel established fund-raising goals and planned to assist local officials in application for additional funding. A successful literacy project, the paper concludes, would result in lower dropout rates, more adults completing high school equivalency tests, and more involvement in education by adults. (TES)