Watch later
The broadcast will be aired again on WRCB-Channel 3 at 5 a.m. Saturday morning.
What are the problems and opportunities here in Hamilton County relating to public education?
This question, asked in a variety of ways, was answered by educators, elected officials, business leaders and education advocates during a one-hour panel discussion hosted Thursday night by the Chattanooga Times Free Press and WRCB.
The discussion, aired on live TV, was intended to build upon the many conversations taking place across the community about the need to improve public education for all students.
Throughout the program, small groups of panelists discussed parent and community involvement, workforce development, teacher recruitment, funding and alternatives to zoned schools.
Parent and Community Involvement
Elizabeth Crews, executive director of UnifiEd, said parents are less likely to be involved if they don't feel like they have power to change things, and emphasized the importance of community school models that give parents a voice.
"It's key for getting [parents] involved and keeping them involved," she said.
Across Hamilton County, Crews said it differs among schools whether they are welcoming to parent involvement, and she said she would like to see the district as a whole do more to make schools welcoming to the community.
The newly appointed principal of The Howard School, Chris Earl, added that there are a lot of negative perceptions about the district's lowest-performing schools - iZone schools - and that it's important for people to come walk those halls and get a better understanding of all that's taking place.
Edna Varner, principal and teacher coach at the Public Education Foundation and a longtime Hamilton County educator, charged principals to go out and find the parents of their students if they aren't getting involved in the school and welcome them inside.
"It's not always about them coming to us first," she said. "It's about us going to them."
Workforce Development
Chattanooga 2.0, an initiative to improve public education and workforce development, released a report in December stating 85 percent of the liveable-wage jobs in Hamilton County require some type of post-secondary credential, and only 35 percent of Hamilton County public school students were leaving high school and earning any additional certification qualifying them to hold those jobs.
Bryan Robinson, a teacher at Tyner Academy, realized that problem, and before the report was released started a mechatronics program at the school to help his students earn the certification needed to get a job making good money in advanced manufacturing.
He said Thursday night he started the program because he knew there was a "need to train tomorrow's workforce."
David Steele, vice president of policy and education at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, said a gap exists between what employers need and the qualifications of residents, leaving Hamilton County with a large opportunity.
He said businesses can begin to seize that opportunity by getting involved in education and helping to prepare students to join the workforce years before they graduate high school.
Teacher Recruitment
Kirk Kelly, interim superintendent of the Hamilton County Department of Education, praised the partnership the school district has with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's College of Education, and said a majority of Hamilton County's hires are UTC graduates.
When prodded on Hamilton County's relatively low test scores compared to other districts across the state, he admitted that when it comes to test scores, the school system has some work to do.
"We are up to the challenge," he said.
Kelly did not mention if he thought teacher recruitment was a factor playing into low test scores, but said professional development for teachers in the classroom is important and a focus of the district moving forward.
Valerie Rutledge, dean of the education college at UTC, said the teaching college relies heavily on Hamilton County to provide classroom experience for its students.
"You can teach theory in a college classroom, but you absolutely have to be in a student classroom to see how that works on the ground," she said.
Funding
Funding for education has been an intensely debated topic in the past couple years in Hamilton County, and Kelly mentioned that the district did not receive the $24 million funding increase requested and had to reallocate funds to help meet the school system's priorities.
Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger said there hasn't been a tax increase for schools in 11 years, but there has been increased funding from revenues and more than $100 million put into new school construction in the past five years.
"[The school system] has a lot of needs and we understand that and we want to fill as many of those needs as we can," he said.
The state's funding formula for education - the Basic Education Program - is not being fully funded, but state Sen. Todd Gardenhire said "the state is doing all it possibly can" to fund education.
Alternatives to zoned schools
Elaine Swafford, executive director of Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, spoke briefly about the success of the charter school in turning the dial for socio-economically disadvantaged girls.
She described the charter school as "just a different type of public education," and said it's important for the district to learn from successful schools and replicate the models.
She said it's crucial to put the highest-performing leaders in the lowest-performing schools and to give them autonomy, but also hold them accountable.
Tony Donen, principal at STEM Chattanooga, said the focus at his school is on teaching students to think critically, work together and bring creative ideas to the table. He said schools should be designed around teaching kids process thinking, which prepares them for an ever-changing work environment.
Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at 423-757-6592 or kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.