In the heart of Kentucky’s Appalachia, where the rolling hills meet the promise of education, a unique tapestry of challenges and opportunities exists in our classrooms that often goes unnoticed by the broader educational community. The educators in these schools are the ones who truly understand the nuances of teaching in this distinctive region. It is with great pride and a sense of duty that we embarked on a mission to amplify their voices and shed light on the intricacies of the Appalachian classroom experience.

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With funding from The Steele-Reese Foundation we were able to gain a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges currently facing educators in this historically significant region. We are acutely aware that Eastern Kentucky’s economic landscape, once dominated by the coal industry, has undergone transformational changes. These shifts have not only impacted livelihoods but have also had a profound effect on the state of education in our region.

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In the spring of 2023, we created a survey seeking to better understand opportunities and challenges in the Appalachian classroom from the perspective of the people working most closely with students and families. In April, we began surveying teachers across the 54 Kentucky counties served by the federal Appalachian Regional Commission. A total of 1,031 teachers completed the online survey.

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We sought to measure conditions after major upheavals — significant school disruption and remote learning during the COVID pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and devastating flooding in the summer of 2022 in the heart of Kentucky’s Appalachian region. Our survey intended to measure perspectives on professional standing and connection as well as student and school success. In addition, we were eager to find out how teachers in Appalachia envision solutions and see wider efforts to improve education.

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In addition to the survey of Appalachian teachers, we held in-person interviews at the Groundswell Summit in Prestonsburg, Kentucky. A few issues repeatedly surfaced both in the survey and interviews. Many educators stated generational poverty, the lack of economic development and career opportunities, the drug epidemic, and the lack of personnel in schools as the biggest challenges to learning for students in their region.

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Educators interviewed said that in classrooms, generational poverty produces a lack of motivation. For many students, the goal of college and career readiness can be meaningless, one educator said. Poverty means many Kentucky students do not possess adequate supplies or even food.

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Living in Appalachia often means never experiencing the things or concepts students in other parts of the state are exposed to due to the underdeveloped commerce. Teachers indicated that one difficult struggle is helping students understand and access real-life examples of concepts that are covered in academic standards. While online resources can help, teachers in follow-up conversations said that as students get older, first-hand connections to adult opportunities are essential. Being able to see examples of high-tech skills, in-demand occupations, or collaboration and networking are important for students to understand expectations and routines beyond isolated rural communities.

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Teachers also pointed to the need to expand vocational and career pathways that connect with economic growth and employment opportunities that could exist in Appalachia.

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In follow-up interviews, teachers indicated that drug abuse has shifted from prescription opioid pain medications like oxycodone to a wave of methamphetamine abuse that coincided with the beginning of the COVID pandemic in 2020 to more recent overdoses associated with illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid. While fentanyl has led to a spike in drug overdose deaths nationally, its impact in Kentucky’s Appalachian communities is devastating.

The drug epidemic has caused students to often miss school because of the need to care for adult family members. In addition to lethal drugs, some teachers also noted alarm about the growing popularity of vaping.

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In both the survey and follow-up conversations, teachers indicated that a lack of substitute teachers is the latest personnel emergency in the post-COVID workforce. In addition, they pointed to alternative certification processes meaning that new teachers have to learn on the job, that support staff like bus drivers and in-school staff are hard to find and keep, and that counselors are swamped by the needs of students and families. Certified counselors are in short supply.

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In the survey, a majority of teachers said more access to mental health professionals or training in trauma-informed practices is a top need. One school reported having only one counselor who visits once a week. Issues that arise the other four days do not get addressed until the day the counselor arrives.

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Looking ahead, teachers of Appalachia Kentucky would welcome expanded opportunities to share their experience with policymakers, fellow teachers, and others working to help Kentucky students flourish as adults. It is difficult to empathize from hundreds of miles away.

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Survey results and follow-up interviews with several veteran Appalachian teachers depict a profession that feels deeply needed, devoted, and connected with its students, yet also stretched beyond its ability in responding to dire life circumstances and ambitious academic targets.

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Funding and pay levels need to be discussed and solutions should be flexible to meet local needs. Making the teaching profession more appealing and rewarding should be a priority. We ask that the broader educational community recognize and address the challenges our educators in Appalachian classrooms face, while also appreciating and celebrating the opportunities and uniqueness of the people, the traditions, and the culture of this region.

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Sincerely, The Prichard Committee Teacher Fellows, 2023

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Dr. Emmanuel Anama-Green
Carly Baldwin
Brison Harvey
Kera Howard
Tiffany Perkins
Allison Slone

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