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.

March 30, 2008
By Matthew Stewart of The Daily Times Staff

After almost two years of planning, the Blount Education Initiative will make its grand entrance into the community. The kickoff event will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 10 at the Airport Hilton, 2001 Alcoa Highway, Alcoa.

“This is an event for people who are passionate about education and (moving it) to the next level. We want everybody to be involved,” said Mark Cate, chairman of the initiative’s executive committee.

Blount Education Initiative has sent out invitations for the event, but the kickoff is open to everyone, said Bonny C. Millard, the initiative’s executive director. There is no charge for attendees, but reservations are needed. There is room for 350 people and seats will be filled on a first-come first- serve basis, Millard said. A head count is needed by April 2, so those interested should contact Millard as soon as possible at 273-1210.

Tennessee’s Acting Commissioner of Education Dr. Tim Webb will be the kickoff’s keynote speaker.

Grass-roots initiative

A lot of education policy changes are being made at the state level and grass-roots level movements are equally as important, Cate said.

“The bottom-line goal is to make education a top priority in the community”

The initiative has three purposes: increase public and community awareness, support local schools and “act as a conduit between education and business to (create) a meaningful dialogue and conversation leading to collaborative efforts.”

The important thing is to bring business leaders and educators to the same table, so business leaders can get a better idea of what’s going on, according to Cate “There is a lot of facts and information out there which the community doesn’t understand,” he said.

The initiative surveyed Blount County citizens to determine what value the community places on education, and Dr. Matt Murray, chairman of the Economic Development Board of Blount County, will present the results at the kickoff.

Murray will deliver the data in the “context of the attitudes and changing environment of education,” Cate said.“We’re not here to criticize. We feel (educators) are doing a fantastic job with what they have been given to work with. However, we have to have greater expectations (to) back up what teachers are trying to do in the classroom,” he said.

The initiative is still in its development stage and “in the process of strategic planning and will be implementing strategies within a couple months of the kickoff,” Cate said.The Blount Education Initiative is creating a Web site, which will be operational shortly, Millard said.

It will be “a clearinghouse for education (resources) in the community and will be about all things educational in the community,” Cate said.

http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20080330/NEWS/182505937

The Blount Education Initiative has selected its first executive director, Bonny C. Millard, to provide day-to-day leadership for its efforts, Mark Cate, chairman of the Initiative’s Executive Committee, announced Tuesday.

The initiative hopes to raise the level of awareness about the importance of education and to make it the community’s No. 1 priority. The initiative developed out of Maryville College and Leadership Blount’s 2006 Leadership Summit from a group of educational professionals, business leaders and community leaders who wanted to capture the energy that the summit fostered.

“We feel that if education is made the No. 1 priority, most of the other issues facing our community can be resolved,” Cate said.

After months of meeting on a regular basis, the group put together strategies of how to pursue its goals and also began the search for someone who could lead the organization as the executive director.

Millard is the former assistant city editor at The Daily Times, where she worked for more than three years as the education reporter. Millard covered all three public school systems: Alcoa, Blount County and Maryville; as well as Maryville Christian School and Maryville College. She has won numerous awards for her reporting from state and regional journalism organizations in Tennessee and Virginia.

During her tenure at The Daily Times, she wrote about educational issues facing our community and highlighted different programs offered in the schools. She established and developed relationships with school board members, administrators, teachers and other staff members.

Cate said Millard’s knowledge and relationships in the Blount education community made her a perfect match for the initiative.

“Bonny Millard has developed important relationships with school administrators, teachers and many of the school board members,” Cate said of her appointment. “We are excited to have Bonny coming on board and look forward to working with her in the years to come.”

Millard, a Blount County native, is the product of the two city school systems and has strong ties to the county system.

Millard will be responsible for putting together a campaign to promote education in the community and flesh out the organization’s goals. This grass-roots effort will bolster an already strong educational tradition in the Blount community.

The initiative is privately funded by local businesses and individuals. Millard’s office will be located at the Blount County Chamber of Commerce, 201 S. Washington St. Maryville, TN 37804-5728. The Blount County Chamber of Commerce has generously donated office space for this endeavor. She may be reached at (865) 273-1210 or at blounteducation@aol.com blounteducation@aol.com>.
ALCOA Inc., one of the initiative’s key strategic partners, will host a reception to introduce Millard to the community in the coming weeks. The public will be invited and details will be forthcoming.

Millard has a bachelor of arts in liberal arts with a major in political and a bachelor of science in communications with a major in journalism, both from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Millard has worked as a victim advocate with a police department in Columbia, S.C., as a public relations professional for a nonprofit and as a director for a mentoring program for at-risk children.

Story from The Daily Times