Excellent E. Ky. school district overcomes odds

Eastern Kentucky remains one of the nation's poorest and most rural regions, still struggling to develop its economy beyond coal. There are competing visions of that, but those on both sides "agree on at least one thing: education is central," John James Snidow writes for the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues.

"Almost every county school district in the state’s eastern coalfield has test scores below the state average, and the region has Kentucky’s lowest share of high-school graduates," Snidow notes. But knowledgeable leaders in education and politics "point to an exception that gives them hope for the region:" the schools in Johnson County. (Encarta map)

"Johnson Central Elementary has the second-highest test scores in the state; U.S. News and World Report named the high school one of America’s best last year; and the county’s academic teams have dominated state competition for years," Snidow reports. "The teams are the New York Yankees of academic competition in Kentucky: not just well-trophied, but well-funded."

Academic-team coaches get the same pay for extra work as top athletic coaches. "That made people think, ‘Well, academics must be important to the folks in Johnson County’," Supt. Steve Trimble, right, told Snidow. (Read his commentary on Trimble.) Keys to excellence, Trimble says, are strong leadership, valuing academics and keeping bad teachers out of classrooms.

Snidow's story also notes efforts to improve instruction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, "which are called STEM subjects to signify their collective importance in an information economy." (Read more)