2009-10 INITIATIVESAdjusting to new state standards and their impact on classrooms and gradesPlanning best use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act fundsUpgrading technologyImproving graduation ratesStarting a behavior class in conjunction with juvenile court servicesFunding the Coordinated School Health Program through grants from General Mills and PE4LifeSource: Bradley County Schools
CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Walker Valley High School already is welcoming some families who have moved here to work at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.
Principal Danny Coggin spoke to Bradley County commissioners and school officials who are working to assess the schools’ immediate and long-term needs.
“We already have some of those families here, and that’s going to happen more and more,” Mr. Coggin said.
Each new school year has its own goals and issues, said County Schools Director Johnny McDaniel. The just finished 2009-10 year was crammed with programs and initiatives.
But the academic year that begins in just a few weeks will be a landmark time on many fronts, he said.
The new Park View Elementary School will open later this year. And completion of the fine arts center at Bradley Central High School makes room on campus for an ROTC program, Mr. McDaniel said.
Dr. Sharon Harper, statistician for the county school system, said the city/county 2035 Growth Task Force is predicting steady population growth until that year.
“Basically what they are seeing is what we are seeing, too,” she said.
Mr. McDaniel said the school system needs land in southern Bradley County for its next elementary school and perhaps a middle school. Walker Valley High will need more classrooms. And the system will need a plan to keep upgrading its technology network each year to avoid huge one-time costs in the future.
“We try to maximize what we have. But you get to a point where you are maxed out,” Mr. McDaniel said.
The school system also aims to save on future energy costs by upgrading windows, roofs and HVAC systems, some more than 40 years old.
“We realize we have some existing schools with issues and needs,” said Connie Wilson, chairwoman of the County Commission’s education committee. “And we realize we need to keep moving ahead. I think the commission knows that too. But it can’t hurt to have meetings like these to keep everyone aware.”