Lead Hill High School in Arkansas Recognized for Grants in Place Project

Student-centered project will construct conservation trail along the shore of Bull Shoals Lake

March 14, 2016 |
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Wanda Van Dyke, Lead Hill High School principal and superintendent-elect for her district, accepts a Grants in Place poster award from Matt Grandon, North Central regional director for Arkansas' Rural Community Alliance.

The Rural Schools Collaborative (RSC) and its partner, the Rural Community Alliance (RCA), recognized Lead Hill Senior High in Arkansas 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.

Lead Hill Senior High will partner with the Diamond City Volunteer Corps to identify and label trees along a newly created conservation trail that skirts the shoreline of Bull Shoals Lake. This project received $550 in support funding.

Matt Grandon, Rural Community Alliance North Central Regional Director, presented the grant award poster to Lead Hill High School principal Wanda Van Dyke. In addition to his regional work, Grandon has also helped develop RCA's Ozark Byways and Delta Highway Projects.

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 community-based instruction, thoughtful collaboration, and targeted philanthropy strengthen the fabric of rural places. Its inaugural Grants in Place program funded 35 innovative projects in seven states. The application deadline for the 2016 Grants in Place program is March 15.

The Rural Schools Collaborative has done work in ten states and has a small administrative office in Cambridge, Wisconsin.

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