I really don't know how we address this issue, especially with the increasing emphasis on education bearing the brunt of expectations for change. For many of these counties, even the proposition of maintaining a comprehensive educational system is increasingly becoming a challenging proposition as population growth stagnates (or even moves in a negative direction) and student enrollment numbers drop. Recruiting non-native educators to these depressed areas becomes increasingly difficult with online course work becoming increasingly the norm for those students who are capable. I talk to these teachers in the region and they are caring committed individuals but having a common core curriculum or the latest I pad device isn't going to address the much larger socioeconomic and community value/expectations challenges. Appalachian teachers can not unilaterally overcome these external elements and the long term fiscal and educational data seems to support this conclusion.
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I really don't know how we address this issue, especially with the increasing emphasis on education bearing the brunt of expectations for change. For many of these counties, even the proposition of maintaining a comprehensive educational system is increasingly becoming a challenging proposition as population growth stagnates (or even moves in a negative direction) and student enrollment numbers drop. Recruiting non-native educators to these depressed areas becomes increasingly difficult with online course work becoming increasingly the norm for those students who are capable.
I talk to these teachers in the region and they are caring committed individuals but having a common core curriculum or the latest I pad device isn't going to address the much larger socioeconomic and community value/expectations challenges. Appalachian teachers can not unilaterally overcome these external elements and the long term fiscal and educational data seems to support this conclusion.
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