"Everyone needs an education. Everybody has to have knowledge - and literacy is the foundation for everything," says Taurean Morton, state director for Reading Roadmap in Mississippi. The organization provides reading interventions for students in kindergarten through second grade, helping at-risk students in the Mississippi Delta region become fluent readers.

"No one knows a classroom better than someone who is in a classroom all day," says Sanford Johnson, executive director of Teach Plus in Mississippi. Teach Plus works to empower teachers to influence decisions that are going to improve the quality of education for students in the Mississippi Delta.

The Arkansas-Mississippi Delta is a region ripe with talent. But like so many rural parts of America, its potential is often overlooked. The Walton Family Foundation is committed to supporting the exceptional people building lasting impact here. We’re proud to share the stories of the incredible people changing their communities for the better.

A pilot program in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, brings a teacher training organization to Jefferson County