Regional Educational Lab (REL) Appalachia partners with key stakeholders in Kentucky to develop evidence that can inform consequential decisions about policy, programs, and practice. Key stakeholders include organizations with decision-making authority and the ability to influence education policy and practice, such as state and local education agencies, school boards, institutes of higher education, and student, family, and community organizations. RELs partner with these organizations on applied research and development; training, coaching and technical supports; and dissemination. 

Map of the REL Appalachia region with Kentucky highlighted
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Partnerships

Building Safe, Caring, and Trauma-Sensitive Schools (Historical)
Supported regional and district leaders in western Kentucky to develop and implement a training series for school-based educators on effective practices to support students and educators experiencing trauma.
Read More Building Safe, Caring, and Trauma-Sensitive Schools
Professional Learning for Mathematics Coaches and Educators
Building the capacity of partners in Kentucky to design and evaluate professional learning that helps educators bolster students’ mathematics learning
Read More Professional Learning for Mathematics Coaches and Educators
Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
This Community of Practice brings leaders across the REL Appalachia four-state region together to collaborate on understanding the state of available research, sharing of ideas, practices, and information to support students and families, and the increasingly common experiences of grandfamilies and kinship care.
Read More Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
Identifying Practices to Boost Early Literacy and Numeracy in Kentucky (Historical)
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) seeks to help schools increase their grade 3 reading and mathematics proficiency rates to set students up for long-term success in school. To pursue this objective, REL AP is partnering with KDE to use data to identify schools with better-than-predicted grade 3 reading or math scores or better-than-predicted gains over time. With REL AP support, KDE will then investigate the factors driving these schools to outperform predictions to inform school improvement efforts across Kentucky.
Read More Identifying Practices to Boost Early Literacy and Numeracy in Kentucky

Regional Educational Lab (REL) Appalachia partners with key stakeholders in Tennessee to develop evidence that can inform consequential decisions about policy, programs, and practice. Key stakeholders include organizations with decision-making authority and the ability to influence education policy and practice, such as state and local education agencies, school boards, institutes of higher education, and student, family, and community organizations. RELs partner with these organizations on applied research and development; training, coaching and technical supports; and dissemination. 

Map of the REL Appalachia region with Tennessee highlighted
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Partnerships

Strengthening Students’ Preparation for College and Careers
Supporting northeastern Tennessee district and school leaders in their monitoring and use of data to improve students’ college and career preparation.
Read More Strengthening Students’ Preparation for College and Careers
Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
This Community of Practice brings leaders across the REL Appalachia four-state region together to collaborate on understanding the state of available research, sharing of ideas, practices, and information to support students and families, and the increasingly common experiences of grandfamilies and kinship care.
Read More Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
Research-Based Practices for Effective Remote Learning (Historical)
Educators across the country are working to discover the most effective methods for delivering online instruction to students in grades K–12. To support these efforts, REL Appalachia is partnering with education leaders in eastern Tennessee to develop a series of train-the-trainer workshops.
Read More Research-Based Practices for Effective Remote Learning
Early Literacy Partnership (Historical)
Children who struggle with reading in the early elementary grades often continue to fall behind. Tennessee state leadership is facing this challenge by establishing a state-wide response to instruction and intervention (RTI2) framework that focuses on intervening early to prevent reading problems from escalating. REL AP is working with partners at the Tennessee Department of Education to build educators' capacity to implement the RTI2 framework so that all students can gain the literacy skills they need.
Read More Early Literacy Partnership
Cross-State Collaborative to Support Schools in the Opioid Crisis (Historical)
Students who are exposed to family and community opioid abuse face acute and chronic stress and trauma, including unmet basic needs (e.g., lack of sleep or food, unstable housing circumstances), as well as a range of psychological difficulties. These challenges often interrupt school functioning, and stakeholders in Appalachia report that schools need more resources and strategies to effectively support these student needs. REL AP is partnering with stakeholders from state and local education agencies, community-based organizations, and universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia to form a collaborative focused on addressing trauma-related consequences of the opioid epidemic in schools.
Read More Cross-State Collaborative to Support Schools in the Opioid Crisis

Regional Educational Lab (REL) Appalachia partners with key stakeholders in Virginia to develop evidence that can inform consequential decisions about policy, programs, and practice. Key stakeholders include organizations with decision-making authority and the ability to influence education policy and practice, such as state and local education agencies, school boards, institutes of higher education, and student, family, and community organizations. RELs partner with these organizations on applied research and development; training, coaching and technical supports; and dissemination. 

Map of the REL Appalachia region with Virginia highlighted
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Partnerships

Developing Resilient and Supportive Community Colleges (Historical)
This partnership supported the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to create a culture of care to improve retention, course completion, and degree and certificate completion for the nearly 200,000 students enrolled in 23 community colleges statewide.
Read More Developing Resilient and Supportive Community Colleges
Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
This Community of Practice supports leaders across the REL Appalachia four-state region to collaborate in understanding the state of available research, including what is and is not available to address their needs, to support sharing of ideas and information to support students and families, to share practices being used in the region in the increasingly common experiences of grandfamilies and kinship care, and to consider ways to collect and monitor relevant data about implementation and outcomes. The COP is focused on how schools and districts can support students and families and how those supports facilitate student success in school.
Read More Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
Student Success in Mathematics Partnership (Historical)
Mastery of algebra I is a critical milestone on the path toward graduating from high school with the skills needed for college and careers. REL AP and our partners in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Staunton, Waynesboro, and Winchester are committed to improving students' mathematics outcomes by grade 9—particularly students of diverse socioeconomic and ethnic/racial backgrounds—so that they are prepared for the higher level math and science courses needed to graduate from high school and transition successfully to college and careers.
Read More Student Success in Mathematics Partnership
Improving Postsecondary Transitions Partnership (Historical)
Stakeholders across Kentucky and Virginia are interested in strategies that encourage and support students' successful transition from high school to postsecondary education programs and careers, particularly for rural students and other historically underserved populations. REL AP is working with a core group of state leaders in Virginia and local partners in eastern Kentucky to fill knowledge and information gaps and provide support to help the policymakers and practitioners use evidence to strengthen students' transition to college and careers.
Read More Improving Postsecondary Transitions Partnership

Regional Educational Lab (REL) Appalachia partners with key stakeholders in West Virginia to develop evidence that can inform consequential decisions about policy, programs, and practice. Key stakeholders include organizations with decision-making authority and the ability to influence education policy and practice, such as state and local education agencies, school boards, institutes of higher education, and student, family, and community organizations. RELs partner with these organizations on applied research and development; training, coaching and technical supports; and dissemination.

Map of the REL Appalachia region with West Virginia highlighted
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Partnerships

Strengthening Mathematical Mindsets (Historical)
Partnered with district and school staff in West Virginia to increase mathematics achievement by promoting positive mathematics attitudes and supporting the development of mathematical habits of mind.
Read More Strengthening Mathematical Mindsets (Historical)
Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
This Community of Practice brings leaders across the REL Appalachia four-state region together to collaborate on understanding the state of available research, sharing of ideas, practices, and information to support students and families, and the increasingly common experiences of grandfamilies and kinship care.
Read More Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice
Cross-State Partnership on Using Data and Evidence to Facilitate Action (Historical)
Stakeholders across the Appalachia region have reported that they are data rich and information poor–and they are motivated to change that reality. The Cross-State Partnership on Using Data and Evidence to Facilitate Action is designed to bolster state agencies' ability to present data in ways to produce useful insights that local stakeholders and others can use in developing and monitoring policy and practice.
Read More Cross-State Partnership on Using Data and Evidence to Facilitate Action

Upcoming Events

Strengthening School Supports for Kinship Caregivers and Grandfamilies Summit

A free virtual summit to provide research and evidence-based strategies to support students living with kinship caregivers an...
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Latest blogs

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Read all about it! Examining implementation and outcomes of high-dosage literacy tuto...

Dec 11, 2025 by Mary Klute
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Focusing on College and Career Readiness? Explore What Works for Students

Dec 04, 2025 by Sheresa Blanchard
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REL Appalachia Launches a Community of Practice to Identify Strategies for Strengthen...

Nov 21, 2025 by Anne Partika
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Concerned About Kindergarten Readiness? Informed Decisions About Screeners Can Help

Nov 17, 2025 by Sheresa Blanchard
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Featured report

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Descriptive Study

Examining Implementation and Outcomes of the Project On-Track High-Dosage Tutoring Program

School districts in northeastern Tennessee have had persistently low proficiency rates in grade 3 English language arts, whic...
Publication number: REL 2024 005
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