The County extension council, community leaders through surveys, and one-on-one face meetings have directed Extension programming to focus on areas dealing with: family relations, drugs, unemployment, motivating children to succeed, peer pressure, helping aging baby boomers learn to adapt to the aging process and financial management. Many of Knott County families struggle with one or more of these issues.
Lack of educational attainment contributes to the majority of these issues. According to the US Census data 2016, Knott County only has 13.0% of its population with a Bachelor’s degree or higher as compared to the state attainment average of 21.5% and high school diploma or higher of 70.4% as compared to the stat average of 83.0%. 23.1% of the Knott County population is living below the poverty level.
          The Reality Store extension program is highly successful in addressing these issues and increasing awareness of cost of living, importance of educational attainment, importance of high school graduation, the relation of these to employment opportunities and the importance of waiting to have children.  
          Working with all six elementary schools the students were prepared with budgeting lessons, given a job based on their current GPA, and taught the important life skill of check writing before attending the program.

The students who participated in the “2017-18 4H It’s Your Reality” reported the following results:

88% realized how their current grades in school could affect their future salary
88% acknowledge the importance of a budget
93% better understand the cost of maintaining a household

96% grasp the higher living cost when raising a child 
94% recognize how their career choice impacts their everyday spending habits

96% associate the importance of staying in school with success in life

97% state the importance of continuing education after high school

          The Reality Store was a collaborative effort between the county’s FYRSC, our board of education who provided buses, our high school beta and honor clubs who provided volunteers, and our local Extension office/4H agent. The program was a huge success and we look forward to next year.