Spring Creek: A Rural Mountain Community

The Spring Creek Literacy Project brings together community, K-12 public school, and university partners working hard to achieve a vision that initially arose from my life experiences. I grew up in a small town in Western North Carolina, attended public schools, left home at seventeen to attend college, and went on to obtain a doctorate in education. It was my dream to create a summer educational initiative that would make a lasting difference in the lives of girls and young women in economically distressed parts of the mountain region. Today this dream is a reality, thanks to the dedication of local people and the commitment of our public school and university partners. The Spring Creek Literacy Project (SCLP) was launched in 2010 with a mission to foster literacy, social equity, and economic opportunity for Appalachia's girls and young women. Its goal is to help these rural young women create futures that include high school graduation and college matriculation.

The project is located in Spring Creek Township, a cluster of nine small mountain communities in Madison County, North Carolina. Its home is the old Spring Creek School, built in the 1920s with stone provided by local farmers. The community of Spring Creek has reclaimed the former school as a community center where they can gather at GRITS (Girls Raised in the South) cafe and restaurant to share food and talk, check out books from a community library, or participate in arts, music, and crafts activities. The SCLP will occupy two former classrooms in the Spring Creek Community Center, renovated to serve as 21^st century learning centers. Middle school girls from Spring Creek, the nearby town of Hot Springs, and the small rural community of Laurel are able to attend, thanks to bus transportation support by Madison County Public Schools.

After our successful launch of the Spring Creek Literacy Project in 2010, we look forward to our second year in 2011. Our program will expand to include a new group of rising 6^th grade girls and a returning group of girls, now poised to enter 7^th grade. We will also welcome one middle school teacher from Madison County Public Schools - a new member of our summer staff who will be announced in the spring. We expect 2011 to be an exciting year of growth and new learning for all involved with this project: students, parents, community people, public school and university partners, and our supporters and friends across the state and region.

Deborah Hicks
Project Director