U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will travel to Hazard Thursday to spotlight new federal funding for Partners for Rural Impact, a “place-based partnership”?founded by Dreama Gentry that works to create student opportunity and success in Appalachia.

Accompanying him will be Geoffrey Canada, president of Harlem Children’s Zone and founder of the William Julius Wilson Institute based in New York.

On Wednesday the U.S. Department of Education announced $63 million in funding aimed at supporting community schools.

Of that amount, Partners for Rural Impact was awarded a “year 1” amount of $16 million. Over five years, the nonprofit will receive $80 million for work in 12 southeastern Kentucky counties, according to a release from the department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Other awardees ?in Kentucky were the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, which will receive ?$47.3 million over five years for work across the state, according to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; and the Wilderness Education Project, $15 million over five years for work in Johnson and Pike counties.

Partners for Rural Impact (PRI) was launched as a pilot project more than 25 years ago by Berea College and has grown into an independent nonprofit working to advance a national ?rural agenda, ?increase public and private funding for rural places and expand?research on what works in rural America.

Cardona and Canada will begin their day at Roy G. Eversole Elementary School, where they plan to tour the early childhood education center and hear from parents and families about their experiences.? Afterward, they will visit Perry County Central High School to learn more about the school’s efforts to lift student voices. The events will end at Hazard Community and Technical College where they will discuss the importance of programs that serve children and young people from birth to career.

They will discuss recent Department of Education grants that focus on efforts to address community violence and advance birth-to-career support in high-needs communities, according to a news release from the Department of Education.