More often than not, economic development begins with education. This concept is the basis of the 1:1 Laptop Initiative, funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation along with private funding from SAS and the NC General Assembly, which seeks to reform high schools by providing laptop computers to students and teachers in school districts in rural areas of the state. Created as a replicable model, the 1:1 initiative will guide the implementation of the program throughout North Carolina's public schools and afford all students access to a twenty-first-century classroom environment. Through the program, students are granted the power to see things they have never seen before and connect with peers and information far beyond the cotton or tobacco fields of their rural community. By creating a classroom setting that teaches applicable computer skills, engages students with multimedia learning opportunities, and relates to twenty-first-century jobs, this program -- in it's second year of existence -- has so far resulted in increased graduation rates, better student performance, and higher teacher retention.