About

The Eastern Kentucky STEM Ecosystem includes 11 high needs counties that are part of a Promise Zone area. Promise Zones are extremely high poverty areas where local stakeholders collaborate and leverage resources to help address regional priorities such as improving educational outcomes, leveraging public and private resources, or increasing economic opportunity. Partners for Rural Impact convenes the Eastern Kentucky Ecosystem using a results based and collective impact framework. The partnership integrates the work of school districts, higher education and businesses to bring awareness to STEM career pathways and to ensure that youth in the focus counties have access to high-quality supports and STEM programming. The Eastern Kentucky STEM Ecosystem brings together a diverse group of cross-sector partners with a goal to inspire all learners to become visionary STEM creators and innovators through cross sector collaboration and partnership that identify, develop, and support real world application of inquiry based knowledge.