This post explores how Appalachia is shifting from a coal and farming economy to one driven by coding, broadband, and digital innovation. It makes the case for reimagining Career and Technical Education (CTE) in rural schools to include skills like AI, computer science, and remote work readiness—all grounded in local industries and culture. Through real-world examples like coding bootcamps for former miners and telework hubs placing thousands into digital jobs, the piece illustrates what's possible when communities invest in modern training. It also addresses the funding, infrastructure, and policy gaps that must be bridged to scale these solutions region-wide. Aimed at funders, educators, and district leaders, the post serves as both a roadmap and a rallying cry for building an inclusive, future-ready economy from the ground up.

This post explores how rural schools can transform traditional farms into startup studios—blending agricultural heritage with cutting-edge AI tools like sensors, drones, and solar systems. Students learn coding, data analysis, product design, and business modeling through hands-on agritech projects that serve their communities. By integrating entrepreneurship, sustainability, and workforce skills into the farm setting, rural schools can become launchpads for innovation and economic renewal. The farm isn’t just a classroom—it’s a catalyst for equity, opportunity, and regional growth.

This post explores how AI is transforming rural schools into engines of equity and opportunity. By providing personalized tutoring, supporting multilingual learners, and easing the burden on understaffed educators, AI is helping low-income rural students access the same learning gains as their urban peers. Through real-world examples from the U.S., Africa, and Asia, the article highlights how thoughtfully implemented AI can close longstanding education gaps. It’s a call to funders and leaders to invest in scalable, locally relevant solutions that make the promise of rural education not just equal—but extraordinary.

This blog post offers practical guidance for rural educators and nonprofit leaders on how to align innovative programs with funder expectations—without sacrificing their core mission. Drawing from Troy Pressens' experience launching AI and clean energy initiatives in small communities, it outlines how to reframe visionary work using funder-friendly language around outcomes, equity, sustainability, and community engagement. Real examples illustrate how changing the framing—not the substance—can help proposals resonate more effectively. The post also addresses common pitfalls, like trying to rewrite ideas to fit a grant rather than translating their value clearly. It's both a strategy guide and a reassurance that funders increasingly want the kind of authentic, locally grounded work rural innovators are already doing.

We explore how philanthropic investment in rural education has evolved since 2000, detailing who is funding what and why it matters. It highlights major funders like ECMC Foundation, Ascendium, Microsoft, and the Gates Foundation, and breaks down over $200 million in rural-targeted grants focused on broadband, teacher recruitment, and AI integration. Through case studies and MLA-sourced data, the article makes the case that rural schools—long underserved—are emerging as strategic, high-impact sites for innovation and equity-driven funding. It's a roadmap for funders looking to support real change in rural communities.

We highlight how rural schools can build powerful AI workforce pipelines by grounding instruction in agriculture, sustainability, and local relevance. It features Morgan County’s Innovation Hub as a model for integrating AI into real-world farm-based projects—like soil sensors, drone imaging, and data analysis—giving students practical, future-ready skills. The piece argues that AI isn’t just for the tech sector; it’s already transforming rural industries like energy and logistics, making local training essential. By aligning education with regional economic needs and offering certifications, internships, and entrepreneurship support, schools can turn classroom innovation into local economic growth. It’s a call to funders and school leaders to invest in rural AI education as both a talent strategy and a regional development engine.

In a high school behavior classroom once marked by constant disruption and turnover, I built a model centered on career pathways—and everything changed. By blending hands-on stations with student interests and core academics, we saw behavior incidents drop and student engagement skyrocket. This is what happens when you design a classroom students want to stay in.

Discover how James Rumsey Technical Institute transformed a dated trailer into a modern mobile career lab. Designed for middle school outreach, this hands-on learning space now travels across three West Virginia counties—bringing real-world career exposure directly to students.

Three high schools in Berkeley County—Spring Mills, Musselman, and Hedgesville—have launched esports teams with support from foundation grants. What began with a few high-powered PCs has grown into a competitive, student-led movement, with players earning college recruitment opportunities and statewide rankings. This grassroots effort is reshaping engagement, creating pathways to higher education, and building community through play.

In the hills and hollows of Jefferson County, West Virginia, traditional classrooms don’t always reach every learner. That’s why we brought the classroom to them. The IQ Cube—a full-scale mobile learning center I designed and managed from start to finish—is rethinking how rural school systems deliver opportunity. This isn’t just a bus; it’s a rolling solution to equity, engagement, and innovation for the students who need it most.