Promise Neighborhood Site Profile: Berea College Promise Neighborhood

Berea College Promise Neighborhood serves Clay, Jackson, and Owsley Counties—cumulatively comprising 961 square miles of rural Appalachian Kentucky. Per capita income in these counties is significantly lower than the state and national average, and Clay, Jackson, and Owsley are some of the most economically distressed counties in the country. In 2010, 81 percent of students qualified for free or reduced-price school meals. All of the middle and high schools included in the Promise Neighborhood are persistently low-achieving. Altogether, 6,300 students—prekindergarten through grade 12—reside within these three counties, and the initiative aims to reach all of them in some way.