Kentucky Educational Development Corporation

Kentucky Educational Development Corporation (KEDC), a tax-exempt non-profit organization and community development corporation headquartered in Ashland, Kentucky, serves as an educational service cooperative representing multiple school districts across the Commonwealth. Operating under the doing business as name K E D C, the organization has been registered with the federal government since August 1998 and specializes in providing comprehensive educational services and programs to school districts, educational agencies, and related institutions. KEDC functions as a prime recipient of federal grant awards from the U.S. Department of Education and other federal agencies, focusing on initiatives that enhance student safety, mental health, academic achievement, and civic engagement in Kentucky's educational systems.

KEDC's federal grant portfolio reflects substantial expertise in managing complex, multi-year educational programs across diverse focus areas. The organization currently administers a significant grant from the Department of Education's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education under the Education Innovation and Research program worth $13.8 million for the LENSES project, which scales evidence-based literacy education initiatives statewide through curriculum development, teacher training, and technology-enabled learning approaches spanning 2026-2030. Additional current awards include the GEAR UP Elevate Project ($3.23 million) providing college readiness services to low-income students, and two American History and Civics Education grants totaling approximately $5.75 million (Passport to Learning and America's Promise: 250th) aimed at strengthening civics instruction and establishing Presidential Academies for teacher professional development. KEDC has also received grants from the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services, including the Eastern Kentucky Mental Health Initiative and the Thrive Project Aware, which provide mental health awareness training and substance use prevention programs to school personnel, students, and community members in targeted eastern Kentucky districts affected by high rates of psychological distress and the 2022 flooding disaster. The organization manages school safety initiatives through Bureau of Justice Assistance grants, including the Project Secure program providing evidence-based training to school personnel, students, and school resource officers across multiple Kentucky districts, and the Kentucky Stop School Violence Initiative implementing threat assessment tools and interconnected systems frameworks for behavioral health and positive behavioral interventions. Past and ongoing programs also include Project Hero focused on history education and research opportunities, Project Renaissance supporting arts in education, Project Epic, and the Recharge Project, demonstrating KEDC's capacity to deliver sustained educational innovation across mental health, literacy, civics, safety, and arts-integrated instruction. The organization maintains collaborative partnerships with entities including the Kentucky Department of Education, Kentucky Center for School Safety, Pathways Behavioral Health Services, and various consulting firms to implement these comprehensive initiatives.