The School Where Students Pay With Plastic Bags

Tat Sat Kasasa Secondary School (TaSKA) is making education more accessible, affordable and inclusive for youth in rural communities, particularly young girls. As of March, TaSKA serves 120 students, 64 of which are girls. Along with education, the school also provides meals, medical care, extracurriculars and access to financial services to create a holistic educational experience.

Small rural schools in New Hampshire achieved some of the state's highest reading scores by leveraging their size to create multi-grade classrooms, provide individualized support to all students, and build long-term student-teacher relationships. In result, these lower-income districts have outperformed expectations by the widest margins in the state.

A school attendance campaign in a rural California district relies on buy-in from a variety of community partners. For instance, administrators supported the construction of a new health clinic next to the school, concentrating multiple key resources on one block and making it easier for parents to access health care for their children.

The Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y) has built over 204 wildlife crossings, fencing systems, and protected corridors across a 3,400-kilometer stretch of the Rocky Mountains. Since Y2Y's founding in 1997, reports of wildlife-vehicle collisions have substantially reduced, thousands of safe animal crossings have been documented, and 9.8 million hectares of connected habitat has been protected.

Architect Kalpana Ramesh and the Rainwater Project, supported by Telangana's government, are restoring centuries-old abandoned stepwells as functional water sources by removing decades of accumulated garbage, rebuilding stone structures, and installing rainwater-harvesting systems. Since the first restoration was completed in December 2022, the well has consistently maintained a water depth of nine meters, even during the summer, providing clean water for the first time in 40 years. To date, 25 stepwells have been restored across Telangana.

Point-of-sale-based agency banking helps make digital finance more accessible and inclusive, allowing small businesses to act as banking agents, offering services like cash withdrawals and bill payments through fintech platforms. This integration has been particularly impactful in regions without bank branches. The integration of fintech throughout Nigeria has not only led to more autonomy in personal finance but has also created significant employment opportunities.

Redfield, South Dakota, addressed its rural housing shortage through a coordinated "start small, build momentum" approach involving city government, private developers and local development agencies. The city made land available, paid for infrastructure and simplified paperwork to attract developers to build multiple duplexes. Over 20 years, this approach resulted in approximately 150 dilapidated homes being rehabilitated or rebuilt. The incremental strategy successfully attracted private investment to a small, isolated city of 2,100 people, something larger developers typically avoid in rural communities.

Schools in Adamawa State are increasing the number of female teachers, which is inherently increasing the number of female students attending school. Previously, over 50% of girls in the area had not been in school, or dropped out, but with the increase of female teachers, the number of girls in school has dramatically increased.

The Tent to School Education Initiative mounts makeshift classrooms in communities where students would normally have to travel long distances to attend classes, leaving them vulnerable to potential safety concerns. In one nomadic settlement, volunteer teachers with the program have helped 70 percent of students improve their numeracy skills, while 65 percent have been able to build reading competencies.

Mutual aid program Light Up Navajo is helping families get connected to the power grid through volunteer workers and private and federal funding. Over the past five years, crews have built miles of powerlines across the reservation, powering nearly 850 households, many of whom are receiving power for the first time.