How much are students improving in your school district?
A massive new study shows which districts are having a bigger impact on student performance. The results might surprise you. A new study that examines educational progress of millions of U.S. pupils over a five-year span finds that there are few patterns for predicting how geography or socio-economic status affect […]
Miner Change: Trump’s Big Talk On Coal Brings Small Change in First Year
Donald Trump loves coal. He campaigned on a promise to put miners back to work and his first year in office included numerous Ohio Valley visits to highlight coal’s importance. “I love our coal miners and they’re coming back strong!” Trump said to a roaring crowd at an August rally in Huntington, […]
“It’s going to take resoluteness”: Elizabeth Sanders on uprooting white supremacy in Central Appalachia and beyond
Note: This piece was originally published in Scalawag, a magazine focused on Southern politics and culture. This interview comes from Scalawag’s ongoing series which recognizes the need to explicitly name and identify the legacy of white supremacy in journalism. The Southerners Combating White Supremacy Series highlights the efforts of Southerners who […]
Remembering the River People
Looking back, four years after the 2014 Elk River chemical spill There’s an old-time method I use for preserving trout. It’s a simple process — coating fresh fillets with coarse salt until the moisture is withdrawn and the flesh stiffens. Prior to the 1920s, salting of red-bellied speckled brook trout was […]
Civil Rights and the All Mighty Economy
When I attended Clintwood High School throughout the mid-’90s, there was an amazing lack of ethnic diversity. Our school was 99.8 percent white. The one student of color who attended CHS had been adopted and raised by a white family. It goes without saying that we had a very limited […]
Swallowing Us Whole: New Regulations on Predatory Lending Felt in Appalachia
In the Borderlands of Appalachia With a population of 494 people, Cumberland Gap, Tennessee might be the smallest township I’ve visited. According to the American Community Survey, the poverty rate here is 48.2 percent. The 2010 census report contradicts this figure with statistics that show no families live in poverty. […]
West Virginia Sees Increase in ‘Family’ Sex Trafficking Related to Opioid Epidemic
West Virginia’s drug epidemic may be leading to increases in what’s called “familial sex trafficking.” Family members trading sex with a child in their family for drugs or money. But spotting the problem and prosecuting the offenders is very difficult. That’s because all forms of human trafficking, whether for labor […]
Who’s That on Your Right?
“We are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American people,” President Trump said one year ago during his inaugural address. He continued; “A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights, and heal our divisions.” While this new national pride stirred much […]
‘You’re Watching Your Time Run Out’ — What the End of DACA Means for ‘Dreamers’ in WV
Democrats and Republicans say they want to pass immigration reform this year. Most Republicans are pushing for tighter border regulations, while some Democrats say they would like to find a way to extend work permits to “Dreamers” through the DACA program. DACA stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. It […]
West Virginia Jails Are in Crisis — What Should We Do?
How bad is the staffing crisis in West Virginia’s jails and prisons? So bad, Gov. Jim Justice asked the National Guard to help with staffing. And he signed an order allowing corrections employees to keep unused vacation time, because they’ve been forced to work so much overtime. Even after a […]