Appalachia Meets World Episode 62 - Reading in The Mountains (Ola Pigman and Kevin Coolidge)

In this episode Neil and Will hear from Ola Pigman from the Hindman Settlement School, as well as Kevin Coolidge author of the Children's Book Series, "The Totally Ninja Raccoons."  Ola is the director of the Dyslexia program at the Hindman Settlement School.  In addition to (cold) banana pudding, she discusses the mission of the school and the purpose (as well as the importance to the region) of the Dyslexia program in Central Appalachia.  Kevin is a small business owner of the bookstore From My Shelf Books as well as the author of "The Totally Ninja Raccoons."  Yes, a book series about raccoons, but more importantly, a series catered towards reluctant readers.  Take a listen to this two guest episode to hear about the importance of providing young readers in Appalachia the opportunities to learn accordingly and develop reading fundamentals early.  For the simple reason of capacity (and density) issues, the Appalachian region can often fall short when it comes to specialized services.  These two guests provide excellent examples of how leadership can drive specialized programming and opportunities that may otherwise not exist.  Also, Will  may get "diagnosed" himself in the interview, so be sure to check it out.  Also, don't forget about the #AppBiz of the week: From My Shelf Books!

Hindman Settlement School - www.hindman.org

From My Shelf Books - www.wellsborobookstore.com   

"Totally Ninja Raccoons" - www.kevincoolidge.org 

Community Placemaking - www.soar-ky.org/community-placemaking/