It’s a promise made six years ago – a promise to improve the lives and livelihoods of families in a region hit hard by economic distress and hampered by educational attainment.
Progress continues to be made in the Kentucky Promise Zone, a 10-year commitment that established one of the first five federal Promise Zones in the country and the first one in a rural area. Bell, Harlan, Letcher, Perry, Leslie, Clay, Knox and part of Whitley county have gained a competitive advantage in applying for federal funds and assistance from those agencies.
The Kentucky Promise Zone has grown from an original 12 partners to 96, provided more than 450 grant applications with letters of support and identified $840 million in announced investments.
Jerry Rickett
Strides have been made in three key areas of labor participation, tourism and education:
Increased labor participation rates
In the last two years, six Promise Zone counties have increased their labor force at double to quadruple the rate of the state average. The total number of people employed throughout the zone grew by 50 percent more than the state average.
One of the bright spots is Teleworks USA. An initiative of Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program (EKCEP), Teleworks recruits companies to bring work-from-home jobs to people through a virtual workplace or at one of its eight hubs.
In 2019 alone, the initiative was responsible for more 600 remote-job placements with pending job retention and an estimated $13.7 million in new annual wages for Eastern Kentuckians – many of whom were chronically unemployed or facing relocation to find work.
Since 2015, Teleworks has helped generate more than 2,600 remote-job placements with an estimated $59 million in economic impact in new annual wages.
Teleworks is prime example of public-private partnerships utilizing grants from USDA, Appalachian Regional Commission, Department of Labor and other federal agencies, along with local communities, to match employer needs with a well-trained, willing workforce.
Tourism
Direct expenditures by visitors increased 12.6 percent in the Promise Zone from 2013 and 2018. The level of direct tourism spending in each county also was higher during that time. Look for those numbers to continue to increase with many signature projects in the pipeline, such as Boone’s Ridge, formerly called the Appalachian Wildlife Center. This tourism and education venue will open in 2021 in Bell County and employ more than 200 people. The 80,000 square-foot visitor center will contain museums, a theater, a restaurant, a petting zoo and nature trails.
Education
As of 2018, six Promise Zone counties have higher high school graduation rates than the statewide average of 90.3 percent.
Rates for the 2018 graduating class were higher in each Promise County compared to the 2013 graduating class, with the exception of Leslie County, which already had a 99 percent graduation rate.
Perry County had the largest gain — increasing from an 83.1 percent to 93.5 percent.
“Our teachers and staff have worked tirelessly to make graduation an expectation for all students,” said Jonathan Jett, superintendent for Perry County Schools. “I am confident I speak for all school districts in appreciation of the federal dollars invested in Perry County. Not only the funding, but the staff provided to our district continue to provide resources and opportunities to ensure all students are on track to graduate.”
Throughout the Promise Zone, partnerships forged, strategies implemented and investments made will be felt for generations. But there is still work to be done. The poverty rate, which has decreased, is 33 percent.
These complex challenges have been created over generations, and we must continue to attack the problems from all sides to achieve results. The Kentucky Promise Zone is proof that tackling these issues from through a multi-pronged approach is the only way to achieve real results. Our promise is to continue the collaboration.
Jerry Rickett is president & CEO of Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, which is coordinating and managing the federal Promise Zone. KHIC, founded in 1968 to stimulate economic growth in nine counties in Southern and Eastern Kentucky, now serves 22 counties in the region and has created more than 20,000 jobs. For more information, see the website.
