Tennessee education commissioner Penny Schwinn visits Hamilton County Schools on bus tour

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn visited Hamilton County Schools as part of the Accelerating TN 2021 bus tour of the state.

She attended a round table with over a dozen district leaders from Hamilton County Schools, local corporations, and state lawmakers on post-secondary opportunities and career paths in the district. She said the schools in Hamilton County reflect the adjustments and restructuring of traditional high school models to meet student needs.

“After the pandemic, there is an appetite to adapt and change … the purpose and role of high school … and rethink what that experience is,” Schwinn said. “So it’s not necessarily six hours a day and the desks in the rows, but it actually prepares the students for something after that, because that’s K-12’s job, it’s not about getting a diploma, it’s about ensuring that once you’ve gotten to graduate, you’re ready to be successful, and I’ve seen a lot of that here. “

Schwinn said the Innovative High School Models scholarship program – which started at $ 14 million when applications opened in March – more than doubled to $ 30 million after the Department of Education received more applications than expected. Hamilton County Schools received a $ 2 million grant under the program to create a MicroCollege program with Chattanooga State Community College offering dual enrollment for high school students.

Participants also discussed barriers to some career paths in the district that could be improved. Neelie Parker, Hamilton County Schools chief schools officer, Jared Bigham of the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, and John Maynard, Hamilton County Schools director of vocational and technical education, said expanding dual enrollment is a great opportunity for students.

129 Photo by Anika Chaturvedi | Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn participates in a round table discussion with Hamilton County Schools executives, community partners, and state lawmakers at Red Bank High School on Thursday, June 17, 2021 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The state’s dual enrollment grant fully funds up to four dual enrollment courses for high school students, and Bigham said expanding that option beyond four courses would encourage more post-secondary achievement, starting with Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) credentials .

“Really, I think an easy first step is … to start with our TCAT credentials and allow students to complete the TCAT certification in high school and go really far with some of those credentials,” Bigham said. “But it’s a barrier to justice when you think of students who can’t afford to pay more than what they pay for dual enrollment. Lottery system has done really well in recent years that we at least hold as a test or pilot were able to start a small TCAT degree and if a student wants to graduate, long down and let them do that and go in the staff after graduation. “

Following the post-secondary discussion, Schwinn visited younger groups of students participating in the district’s summer REACH at Red Bank Elementary School. Schwinn attended two classrooms; one in which aspiring sixth graders worked with robotics at various stations in the classroom, and another in which aspiring first graders sang the alphabet and other songs in music class.

Summer REACH began last summer to catch up on school closings at the start of the pandemic and has been expanded this year under the parameters of the Tennessee Learning Loss and Remediation Act passed by state legislature in January. Around 6,200 students are taking part in the program this summer, which takes place over three weeks in June and three weeks in July.

Contact Anika Chaturvedi at achaturvedi@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/tennessee-education-commissioner-penny-schwinn-visits-hamilton-county-schools-on-bus-tour/