Notre Dame Urban Education Center recognized as Best of Kentucky 2026

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

The Notre Dame Urban Education Center, Covington, was recently awarded Best of Kentucky 2026 in the specialized education programs category. Erin Woods, executive director, said that she felt like this category was “meant for us.”

“We can’t go up against a school for the same type of support because that’s not what we are,” she said.

The NDUEC is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Notre Dame that provides educational opportunities and family support for pre-K through eighth grade students in both private and public schools in Covington.

“We provide an extended menu of academic support and enrichment opportunities,” said Mrs. Woods. This includes what Mrs. Woods called a “continuum of educational services,” which begins before kindergarten in the Early Learning program —designed to increase kindergarten readiness for four-year-olds.

Once students age out of the Early Learning program and begin school, they can continue their enrollment at NDUEC through the Homework Plus program. There, students are paired with a tutor for one-on-one support and enrichment opportunities, including the Stitch Studio and STEM garden.

In the Stitch Studio, students develop life skills on the sewing machine. “It’s more like a brain break, but they’re still learning. It’s more hands-on,” said Mrs. Woods. “We really try to make it make sense for the students, and so we want them to want to come to the Center and walk through our doors and be happy that they’re there.”

For one student, Charming, the STEM garden provides this outlet so that he enjoys his time at NDUEC. Together, the students, volunteers and staff work to raise produce and flowers from seeds, beginning indoors in February to plant in the beginning of spring to be harvested at the end of the season.

Charming explained that recently he was able to dig up the sweet potato plants, saying that his favorite part of the STEM garden was watching the seeds grow into big plants and discovering what they will look like.

Students at NDUEC can also participate in Summer Academics, protecting their hard-earned knowledge from the previous school year. Mrs. Woods explained that the Summer Academics program “builds and reinforces learning over the summer when learning loss is at an all-time high … make sure that our students maintain those core subject knowledge bases that they need so they don’t start the next school year behind,” she said.

Recognizing that learning begins at home, the fourth specialized program that NDUEC offers is a Family Support Night. “Those are quarterly family gatherings where we open the doors to the Center to all of our students and their families … We have a topic of interest and guest speaker, we have community resources, and it’s really about camaraderie and having the parents become active participants in their children’s education,” said Mrs. Woods. “They’re the first educators. The Center is here to help with extra stuff.”

The Best of Specialized Education Programs in Kentucky award recognizes the Notre Dame Urban Education Center for the high-quality educational support provided for students and families. The award acknowledges the work of the staff and 300-plus volunteers that make the life-changing programs like the Stitch Studio and STEM garden possible.

“Receiving the 2026 Best of Kentucky Award is a meaningful recognition of NUDEC’s more than 15 years of investing in children and families,” said Mrs. Woods. “One student, one relationship and one opportunity at a time, NDUEC continues to make a lasting difference.”