Rural Special's DeWyn Avey Recognized for Grants in Place Project

Students turn community interviews into books!

December 12, 2016 |
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DeWyn Avey, library media specialist for Fox, Arkansas' Rural Special School, uses a new book binder that was purchased with funds for a Grants in Place project.

Rural Special School's DeWyn Avey, library media specialist, received a $800 Grants in Place award for her "Community Interview Books" project. Funding was provided by the Rural Schools Collaborative with additional support provided by the Rural Community Alliance and Rural Educational Heritage, Inc.. Avey was presented her award by Renee Carr, Rural Schools Collaborative board chair and Rural Community Alliance chief financial office. Rural Special is located in Fox, Arkansas.

Participating Rural Special students will write, lay out and publish small books based on interviews with community members.

Carr reported, "Dewyn has already been using the book binder to repair library books. The history project will be done spring semester with Abby Lay's 2nd grade class interviewing community members. Ms. Lay and Ms. Avey will compile and bind a book of the students' work. Dewyn says they will take plenty of pictures to document the project."

The 2016-17 Rural Schools Collaborative Grants in Place program was truly a collaborative venture. The combined efforts fund 33 projects serving 54 communities, supporting the good work of more than 60 teachers from seven states. Twenty-two funders and individual donors came together to invest more than $105,000 in rural place-based education initiatives and projects. The groundbreaking work of the Community Foundation of the OzarksRural Schools Partnership certainly led the way, but other organizations are beginning to see the real value of supporting student learning that is imbedded in the community and serves a public purpose.

Please check out this year's projects. They were selected from more than 70 applications from 12 different states. We hope you will join us in our ongoing endeavor to enlist additional funders and create even more place-based opportunities for teachers and their respective communities.

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DeWyn Avey, from Fox, Arkansas, receives a Grants in Place poster award from Renee Carr. Rural Schools Collaborative chair and Rural Community Alliance chief financial office.

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