Open Way Learning and the WNC Resilience Project Receive Support through the Dogwood Health Trust Collaboration & Innovation Grant

Open Way Learning has received support through a Collaboration & Innovation (C&I) grant from Dogwood Health Trust for the continued growth of the Western North Carolina Resilience Project coalition. The grant supports organizations collaborating to address complex challenges across the region. For Open Way Learning, a mission driven non-profit that serves as the network hub for the WNC Resilience Project, it strengthens the partnerships and shared learning ecosystems that are helping local educators and communities reimagine what school can be in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

This next phase of the project welcomes several additional partners including CommunityShare, Land of Sky P20 Council, and Constructive Learning Design (RootED). They join existing partners Open Way Learning, the NC Center for Resilience and Learning, SparkNC, and Education Reimagined, who helped shape the WNC Resilience Project during its first year. The coalition extends beyond grant-supported partnerships to include collaboration with Appalachian State University’s NC Rural Education Collaborative, professors from Western Carolina University, and a focused Watauga County partnership with MGT.

The goal of the WNC Resilience Project is to reimagine education in Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The coalition approaches this work using an improvement science framework delivered through professional learning partnerships with school districts across the region. Schools participate in collaborative learning cycles and regional convenings where educators share what is working, collaborate to solve challenges, and develop strategies for the future.

We’re grateful for Dogwood Health Trust’s support and excited for what this makes possible.

Dogwood Health Trust is a private foundation based in Asheville, North Carolina with the sole purpose of dramatically improving the health and wellbeing of all people and communities of 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina. Dogwood Health Trust focuses on innovative and equitable ways to address the many factors that contribute to overall health and wellbeing. With a focus on housing, education, economic opportunity and health and wellness, Dogwood Health Trust works to create a Western North Carolina where every generation can live, learn, earn and thrive, with dignity and opportunity for all, no exceptions. To learn more, please visit www.dht.org.