Dive Brief:

• Using a Race to the Top grant, the Kentucky Valley Education Cooperative (KVEC) is bringing WIN Learning—​a digital, blended learning program—​inside a number of rural districts.
• WIN Math will be placed in schools within the 15 Appalachian counties and was chosen because it is not only marketed as a program that gets students "college and career ready," but that its lessons highlight both practical and aspirational career choices.
• The math programming is organized around 16 "career clusters," with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics subjects.

Dive Insight:

Many of the Eastern Kentucky counties where these programs are being implemented are underserved, high-poverty, and often isolated, so any extra school support is viewed as an asset.

Kentucky as a whole has been on a big college kick lately. In December, Education Commissioner Terry Holliday presented the Kentucky Rising Plan, which would allow students to graduate with "enhanced diplomas," carrying benefits such as scholarships and early college admission. The state has also become something of a Common Core poster child.