Nonprofit helps schools in poor areas get grants to help older students mentor younger ones toward higher ed

"Schools are often the heart of a community, and in rural Appalachia, community schools are a center of gravity where local and regional partnerships merge to improve outcomes and strengthen local communities," Jennifer Kotting reports for the Brookings Institution. "Community schools in three counties in Kentucky have opened the doors for high-school students to mentor younger students on their way to postsecondary education, for retired teachers to support schools and their own financial well-being, and for family members to engage in enriched learning opportunities."

Kotting said Kentucky was a fertile field for the idea because the state funds Family Resource and Youth Services Centers to help disadvantaged students, "and they grew stronger when U.S. Department of Education funding was expanded. The organization Partners for Rural Impact has increased funding for community schools by bringing together partners and districts to apply for funding, as well as combine programs that improve academic outcomes and build on the strengths of local communities for long-term results." 

The group and its partners, including Berea College, have won $7.5 million in federal community-school grants to Knox County in 2014, Berea in 2018, and Leslie County in 2020. "There are 50 schools under the designation of community schools across southeastern Kentucky," Kotting reports. "Partners for Rural Impact also works with partners like Save the Children, Strive Together, Advance Kentucky, Operation UNITE and the Annie E. Casey Foundation to successfully weave together programs with these community schools efforts."

Partners for Rural Impact is run by the aptly named Dreama Gentry, whom Kotting quotes at length, starting with: “Rural districts don’t always have the staff capacity to adequately identify and apply for federal grants. Partners for Rural Impact serves as a trusted backbone so that multiple school districts will partner with us to design the program and develop the funding applications. Then, the money comes in through us and flows to the school districts. We have flexible models for employee contracts depending on the individual school districts. The result is the same—a local person becomes site coordinator, and that local person belongs to our team. We train them and provide oversight and supervision.” There's lots more here.