Dr. Johan Uvin, assistant secretary of career, technical and adult education of the U.S. Department of Education, addresses local education, business and public officials at Walker Valley High School as part of the agency's "Partners in Progress" Back-to-School Bus Tour.CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Walker Valley High School received a visit from U.S. Department of Education officials as part of the agency's "Partners in Progress" Back-to-School bus tour on Wednesday.
In a round-table discussion, the federal officials discussed the importance of partnership initiatives with local education, business and public representatives.
"[The goal] is to respond to the needs of students, business and industry," said Dr. Johan Uvin, assistant secretary of career, technical and adult education of the U.S. Department of Education.
The Department of Education encourages core principles in building partnerships between school systems and community stakeholders, including alignment of needs, collaboration, results-minded accountability and innovation, said Uvin.
The mission of the department is to serve as facilitators by enabling local communities to embrace those ideals and achieve those goals, he said, praising Bradley County Schools' efforts to engage students with relevant work-based educational opportunities.
"They marry nicely," said Arlette Robinson, director of career and technical education for Bradley County Schools, regarding a number of dovetailing community partnership initiatives that paved the way for the recent receipt of a $4.5 million Youth Career Connect grant. The money is intended to coordinate education, work and career opportunities for students.
Bradley County was chosen as a "Partners in Progress" tour stop "due to the great business and industry, post-secondary and community partnerships in place," such as Small Learning Communities, Southeast Tennessee Pathways to Prosperity Network, dual credit/enrollment and industry certifications, said Robinson.
"We are proud of the collaboration, which leads to graduation," said Johnny McDaniel, director of Bradley County Schools, citing a 94 percent graduation rate for the county school system overall. "The partnerships are critical to what we are doing."
Embracing an increasingly regional outlook in regard to industrial development has placed Bradley County "light years ahead" in some cases, accelerating the need to provide graduates capable of fulfilling the employee needs of companies like Wacker Polysilicon and Cormetech, said Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis.
The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce plays an active role in matching students and educators with local business and industry, said Sherry Crye, director of work-force development for the agency.
Those efforts include partnering schools with local companies, encouraging student job shadowing programs and organizing field trips to modern manufacturing facilities, she said.
First and foremost, it is about providing opportunities for the kids, said Danny Coggin, principal of Walker Valley High School.
Business partnerships with our schools are "an exciting part of what goes on in this county," he said.
The goal is to train the students to think so they can grow in jobs that may not even exist yet, said Coggin.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.