Interested in seeing what the graduation rates are in our community schools? An article in The Daily Times provides information about all four high schools and how, in some cases, the rates have greatly improved over the last several years. Our educators are working hard to make sure our students graduate from high school on time.

By Matthew Stewart
of The Daily Times Staff
Originally published: October 27. 2009 3:01AM
Last modified: October 26. 2009 11:51PM

Four gubernatorial candidates gathered in William Blount High School’s Patricia B. Lane Auditorium Monday night to discuss the state’s No.1 priority: education.

The Blount Education Initiative (BEI) hosted the community forum that was open to the public. Candidates discussed a wide range of topics from Pre-K, special education, taxes, higher education to the new state standards.

The Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) has released a report titled “A Roadmap for Success: A Plan to Make Tennessee Schools #1 in the Southeast Within Five Years.” Candidates were asked if they thought it was a reasonable goal for Tennessee, which is nationally ranked in the 40s in a variety of educational performance categories.

Zach Wamp answers a question from the audience Monday while candidate Kim McMillan listens in William Blount High School’s Patricia B. Lane Auditorium. Wamp, McMillan, Bill Haslam and Ward Cammack attended the community forum hosted by the Blount Education Initiative.

Ward Cammack, a Democrat, said he thought it was an admirable goal but was apprehensive about how teachers would continue to teach to the test.

Kim McMillan, a Democrat, said she hoped Tennessee’s schools would be No. 1 in the Southeast within five years. McMillan said she would like to see more partnerships between the business and educational communities.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, a Republican, said he thought it would be a worthwhile investment and wanted to involve educators in the process. “Educators know a lot more about education than politicians,” he said. Wamp also said he thought it’d be a more reasonable goal to see Tennessee’s schools within the nation’s top 25 in the next eight years.

Bill Haslam, a Republican, said he didn’t think people should be driven by rankings. Haslam then referred back to his five-point program for education that includes higher standards, great principals, great teachers, giving parents more of a say in their child’s education and using data to make decisions.

If schools have great principals and teachers then the rest will follow, Haslam said.

 

Bill Haslam (left), Ward Cammack (right)

 

Kim McMillan and Zach Wamp

Blount Education Initiative is pleased to announce that the upcoming Gubernatorial Community Forum will be televised live on WBIR’s 10News2 on Oct. 26 from 7-8:30 p.m. as well as being streamed live on their Web site at www.wbir.com. John Becker, an award-winning journalist who is the co-anchor of WBIR’s Action 10 News at 6 and 11 p.m. and the moderator of the station’s political roundtable “Inside Tennessee,” will serve as the forum moderator. http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=101475&catid=2

In addition to the listed candidates, businessman Ward Cammack will also be participating in the forum.

 We invited you to submit questions about the future of education in Tennessee to be considered for our forum. You may submit them here in the comments section or send them to bonny@blounteducation.org. The deadline for submitting questions is 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. Thanks for your participation. For more information, check out our press release. WBIR_to_cover_gubernatorial_forum

Blount Education Initiative Supports Diploma Project

Blount Today

Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009

In 2008, Gov. Bredesen commended the State Board of Education’s decision to officially adopt more rigorous graduation requirements in Tennessee. The Tennessee Diploma Project (TDP) redefines the K-12 experience as an initiative to raise Tennessee’s standards and curriculum to better prepare students to be successful after high school, says the Blount Education Initiative, a grassroots organization charged with advancing educational priorities in Blount County.

In a press release, the BEI said it believes the objectives of the new program will challenge students and better prepare them for college and the workforce. The goals of the diploma project include producing students who are workplace and/or college ready; have a deeper understanding of math and science and their relationship to technology; can work cooperatively in groups and are ready to demonstrate responsibilities in their own lives and in service to their community.

“These new standards will equip students in Blount County with additional knowledge and skills to help them succeed after high school, which ultimately will help improve the quality of life in Blount County,” said BEI Executive Director Bonny Millard. “As a community, we should rise to the challenge that these new standards present in order for our students to gain stronger skill sets.”

Part of implementing the TDP requires schools to align their curriculum to secure a pathway for students, parents and teachers to reach those high standards. The new requirements will begin with this school year’s ninth graders.

Requirements include:

• Current basic high school requirements requirement 20 credits while new requirements for students beginning high school in the Fall of 2009 are 22 credits.

• Currently students must have three math credits (including either geometry or Algebra II) while the new requirements call for four math credits, including Algebra I and II, geometry and a fourth higher level math course.

• Current requirements call for three science credits including one physical science course and biology. New requirements for students starting high school in the Fall of 2009 call for three science credits, including biology, chemistry or physics and a third lab course.

• The English and Social studies requirements for students beginning high school in the Fall of 2009 remain the same as the current requirements – four credits for English and three for Social Studies.

• The current requirement for Wellness is one credit and the new requirement for students beginning high school in the Fall of 2009 is one and a half credits for Wellness and Physical Education.

• Additional requirements for students beginning high school in the Fall of 2009 include a half credit for Personal Finance, two credits for a foreign language and one credit in Fine Arts.

The Fine Arts credit may be waived for students not going to a university, which then expands and enhances the elective focus requirement of three credits. The Elective Focus can include math and science courses, career and technical education, fine arts, humanities, Advanced Placement courses or International Baccalaureate courses.

Other dimensions of the new standards include end-of-course examinations, which will be factored into the student’s grades as a percentage along with performance-based assessments being developed by the Department of Education’s Division of Accountability, Teaching and Learning.

The Tennessee Diploma Project also will require faculty to participate in professional development. All teachers will be informed of changes in the standards and assessments along with best practices for engaging students and increasing retention.

More information about the Tennessee Diploma Project and the new graduation requirements may be found on the Tennessee Department of Education’s Web site at www.state.tn.us/education or www.tnelc.org.

WBIR News Anchor John Becker interviews Blount Education Initiative (BEI) President Mark Cate about BEI research that exposes a disconnect between high school senior’s and community’s perceptions of educational importance. Survey validates parents play lead role in influencing students to graduate from high school.

Please join the Blount Education Initiative at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 2, to learn where Blount County residents stand on education as the community’s top priority and how we will support education awareness in 2009-2010. BEI uses a grassroots approach to supporting education and making it our community’s top priority. Please join us in this effort.

The event will be held at Clayton Homes Corporate Office, 5000 Clayton Road, Maryville. Please let us know if you would like to attend at rsvp@blounteducation.org.

By Sharon Anglim —

Penny Ferguson will join the ranks of only two other Tennesseeans when she is inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Kansas this summer.

Dr. Ferguson was recognized at Maryville High School on Tuesday afternoon as students, fellow-teachers, administrators, public officials, and others joined to honor this special educator. Since the Hall of Fame was established in 1989, only 80 educators nationwide have been inducted.

Mary Barth, retired MHS teacher, nominated Penny for the award. You can read more about Dr. Ferguson’s many accomplishments at the National Teachers Hall of Fame website … http://www.nthf.org/inductee/08ferguson.html. In her 39 year career, Ferguson has taught over 6,500 students, and 18 of her former students work at Maryville High School.

“My students are my estate — they are my legacy,” said Ferguson. And as (Director of Schools) Stephanie Thompson stated, “Our greatest hope is that Penny will continue to find great joy in her work.”

Best wishes to Penny for continued success and great joy!

Reprinted with permission from Maryville City Schools e-news for employees April 22, 2008

Many of our teachers don’t get the recognition that they deserve. After all, they spend about eight hours a day with our children 180 days a year, preparing them for the future without exactly knowing what that future is. The excellent teachers continue to improve upon and update their lessons and methods of teaching. The explosion of technology in the last 20 years has demanded that teachers keep up with the changing environment they find themselves in. One of our own has been recognized for doing just that — Dr. Penny Ferguson, chair of the English Department at Maryville High School. Dr. Ferguson will be inducted into the National Teachers hall of Fame in Emporia, Kansas in June. She is only the third Tennessee teacher to attain this status. To find out more about Dr. Ferguson and many of her other awards, checkout the National Teachers Hall of Fame

Throughout her 39 years in education, she has developed new and innovative ways to teach her students. As a junior in high school, I had the benefit of being in her class and learning about the great classics and writing research papers. I am certain her class helped instill the foundation of writing that I would later use professionally. Even though I had her in school many years ago, she looks just the same. As an adult covering education in the community, I had the opportunity to observe many new lessons she has incorporated into her class: the Family History Project, the Decades Project and others. I would love the opportunity to go back and complete some of these projects. In addition to keeping her classes fresh, over the years, she has continued with her own education, earning a doctorate in 1988. I am sure that this has impacted students about the importance of becoming lifelong learners.

We are lucky to have a teacher of this caliber in our community. At a recent reception at Maryville High School, Dr. Ferguson quoted Emily Dickinson, altering it slightly, “My students are my estate.” Fortunately, that estate will continue to grow as she doesn’t have any plans for retiring anytime soon.

The official kickoff for our organization was successful on many levels. A wonderful crowd of interested community folks and some from surrounding counties attended the event. Our goal was to make the community aware of our organization and to provide some updated information about the state of education in Tennessee. Assistant Commissioner of the state Department of Education Susie Bunch offered insightful high school graduation statistics and the level of college readiness of our students across the state. She also discussed the American Diploma Project and Tennessee’s participation in that network. The Tennessee Diploma Project will make standards more rigorous and revelant. UT Economics Professor Matt Murray, a member of our Executive Committee, shared the results of a recent survey administered by the University of Tennessee’s Institute of Argiculture. Watch for Murray’s report on our Web site soon. A special thanks goes to DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Inc., a community-oriented company that sponsored the event so that we could invite members from all sectors of the community. Steve White, of Multi-Media Solutions, Inc., graciously offered to provide the projector and screen for our presentations. His technical assistance was invaluable. As the evening ended, it was apparent that a “buzz” about education in our community was starting. Our community has long been known for its tradition of strong educational systems, and what we want to do is capitalize on that to truly make education our No. 1 priority.

by Matthew Stewart
The Daily Times

Educators, elected officials and business leaders met at the Blount Education Initiative’s kickoff event Thursday to discuss the importance of remaining steadfast in their resolve even in the face of changing state standards.

Mark Cate, chairman of the initiative’s executive committee, said the seed for the initiative was planted at Maryville College’s 2006 Leadership Summit, when education leader Bill Daggett told the group that “to really effect change you have to change the culture.” He told the nearly 300 audience members in attendance that it was “a very, very exciting night to see it come fruition.”

Tennessee Department of Education’s Assistant Commissioner Susan Bunch was the event’s keynote speaker. Tennessee’s Acting Commissioner of Education Tim Webb could not attend the event, because of an illness in the family.

Tennessee’s students are not where they need to be, Bunch said. By 2010, 67 percent of all jobs in Tennessee will require some form of post-secondary training. Students from 36 states are better prepared for post-secondary education, according to Bunch.

Tennessee needs to raise its education standards, so the state’s citizens can compete in the job market with residents from neighboring states, she said. Industrial leaders are looking for students who can apply skills they have learned to everyday problems. Tennessee’s educators need to give students “a diploma which means something (at their graduation) and means something later as they prepare for life.”

Tennessee needs the support of educators, elected officials and business leaders to reach that goal, she said. “Roll up your sleeves and fight the fight we need to fight.”

Bunch cautioned the audience that changes in the state’s curriculum requirements will produce drops in standardized testing scores. These drops are normal occurrences, and every state that has become a part of the American Diploma Project network has seen this before they “turn the corner,” Bunch said. “At that time, we will need you by our side. Don’t rest now, we have more work to do.”

Attendees seemed to agree with the kickoff’s message. According to Blount County Board of Education Chairman Don McNelly, the Blount Education Initiative is a move in the right direction.

“I would like to see the initiative supported by the community,” McNelly said.

Partners of the Blount Education Initiative that helped hold the event include DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, Multimedia Solutions, ALCOA Inc., Lawler-Wood, Clayton Homes, Ruby Tuesday, Joseph Construction, Blount Memorial Hospital, Maryville College, Pellissippi State Technical Community College, Blount Partnership, Leadership Blount and Center for Strong Communities.