News and Updates
John Sevier Middle School Receives 2025 Resilient School Distinction
Read about this award that honors schools for their commitment to excellence, innovation, and integrity and the great work at John Seveier Middle School. Click here for the full story.
Unicoi County High School Student Creates Project to Promote Farmers' Mental Health after Hurricane Helene
Read about how rural students are helping their community through an agriscience fair project. Click here for the full story.
Appalachian Futurism Project Launched at ETSU
Read about how Elizabethton High School is working on this project to explore ways to connect young people to their community. Click here for the full story.
Podcast: Beyond the Bell: School Leadership Series
Jon Minton and George Laoo
School leadership doesn’t stop when the final bell rings. From daily challenges to unexpected wins, every leader has a story—and something to learn. Beyond the Bell takes you inside the real conversations of leadership, where current principals George Laoo and Jon Minton mix humor, research, personal stories, and honest insight to tackle what it really means to lead. Each episode delivers practical strategies and thought-provoking discussions with special guests to help both new and seasoned leaders thrive in the complexities of the role. Because the real work—and the real growth—of leadership happens Beyond the Bell. Click here
ETSU Launches Center to Transform Rural Education
To see the full article, Click here
Article: "Reflections from a Formerly Disengaged Teen" about a student from Elizabethton High School in Carter County
To see the full article, Click here
Article: "ETSU Offers New Pathways with Chattanooga State Community College"
Read about 18 new pathways that students can follow to move from an associate's degree to a bachelor's degree in high demand fields: Click here
Article: "Trent's Leadership Journey"
Read about how Trent White from rural Unicoi County became a leader on ETSU's campus and scholarship recipient. Trent is also the Council Director for the Rural Student Leadership Council as part of the Center for Rural Education and Development. To see the article, Click here
Article: "From Student to Teacher: ETSU Grad Uplifting Appalachia"
To see the article, Click here
Holistic Credit Mobility Grant and Cohort
EDWorks of Northeast Tennessee, a consortium of four universities (ETSU, King, Milligan, and Tusculum), two community colleges (Northeast State and Walters State), and two Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCAT Elizabethton and TCAT Morristown), has been awarded a grant to explore ways to improve credit mobility in the region. The grant is provided by Ithaka S+R, Complete College America, and Ascendium to twelve organizations nationwide. EDWorks will be working with the Center for Rural Education and Development to explore transfer credits, articulation agreements, dual enrollment credits, credits for prior learning, military credits and other types of learning to find ways to create seamless paths for students who move across institutions.
For more information, see the Ithaka S+R announcement: Holistic Credit Mobility