Kirby (Arkansas) Elementary School Teachers Receive Grant from the Rural Schools Collaborative and Rural Community Alliance
Arkansas Grants in Place recipients recognized again!
Brennan (Penny) Harris, Southwest Regional Director for Arkansas' Rural Community Alliance, presents a Grants in Place recognition poster to Kirby Elementary School teachers, Cathy Whitehead and Deborah Wright.
INFORMATION RELEASE
RURAL SCHOOLS COLLABORATIVE/ www.ruralschoolscollaborative.org
CONTACT: Gary Funk, director, 417-848-9083; gfunk@ruralschoolscollaborative.org
November 7, 2015
Kirby (Arkansas) Elementary School Teachers Receive Grant from the Rural Schools Collaborative and Rural Community Alliance
The Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC) and the Rural Community Alliance (RCA) recognized two Kirby Elementary School teachers for receiving a grant through RSC’s inaugural Grants in Place program. Funds for the grant award were provided in part by the Arkansas-based Rural Community Alliance and individual donors.
Kirby Elementary School students and the grant coordinators, Deborah Wright, science teacher, and Cathy Whitehead, literacy teacher, received a $350 grant to organize and support several cleanup days for nearby Lake Greason. This project is in cooperation with Diamond City’s Parks and Recreation Department.
Brennan (Penny) Harris, Rural Community Alliance Southwest Regional Director, presented the grant award poster to Wright and Whitehead. Harris is also an RCA chapter leader for the communities of Bradley and Doddridge, where she developed the largest RCA chapter. Harris focuses on organizing for RCA in southwest Arkansas communities and is actively involved in her church.
The Rural Community Alliance is a statewide advocate for rural public education and facilitates grassroots-led community revitalization projects in low-wealth communities. RCA has nearly 2,000 members in 64 communities.
The Rural Schools Collaborative was organized in 2014 and launched in April 2015. RSC believes that community-based instruction, thoughtful collaboration, and targeted philanthropy strengthen the fabric of rural places. Its Grants in Place program is funding 35 innovative projects in seven states.
The organization is currently engaged in eight states with an administrative office in Cambridge, Wisconsin.