Meeting discusses success and challenges facing county schools
Some boasted of the success being made in Hamilton County Schools, while others noted that many students are being left behind.
Multiple elected officials, school district staff and a couple dozen community members attended a meeting Monday evening at Orchard Knob Baptist Church hosted by District 4 County Commissioner Warren Mackey and school board member Tiffanie Robinson.
The intention of the meeting was not to critique schools or teachers, Mackey said, but to work toward solutions.
“We are here to find ways to work cooperatively [to] improve the system,” he said. ” … I think we would all agree there is room for improvement.”
Hamilton County Schools Interim Superintendent Kirk Kelly summarized the district’s strategic plan, highlighting efforts to increase literacy and math scores.
Last school year, Hamilton County’s Tennessee Value-Added Score, which measures academic growth, jumped from a 1, the lowest possible score for high school literacy, to a 5, the highest score. ACT scores also ticked upward, moving from a 18.9 to an average score of 19.8.
“So we are moving in the right direction,” Kelly said.
He also noted how the district is working to prepare students for a career after high school through the district’s mechatronics and polytechnic academies, which allow students to start earning work-place credentials while finishing high school.
Jared Bigham, coordinator of Chattanooga 2.0, a community movement to create a stronger workforce, said the district must continue working to ensure that all high school graduates are prepared to enter the workforce or go on to earn credentials that prepare them to hold one of the many well-paying jobs businesses across the county are struggling to fill.
James Moreland, a long-time advocate of East Chattanooga neighborhoods, said kids are not being equipped with the skills they need to land jobs and be productive.
“If we continue to ignore that segment [of the community] we are going to continue to get problems after problems,” he said.
Dan Challener, president of the Public Education Foundation, said the community and schools are at a critical moment, and he’s optimistic about the future.
“This is a chance for our community to come together and do what we’ve needed to do for awhile,” Challener said.
UnifiEd Executive Director Jonas Barriere said the education advocacy non-profit hopes the district listens to the voices of parents, teachers and students as they make decisions.
Everlena Holmes said
training is needed to help parents better advocate for their kids, noting that many of the neighborhoods where students live are devastated by poverty.
“If we want parents to do more, then we have to help them,” she said.
Jennifer Woods, a former teacher and the education chairwoman of the local NAACP, said what is taking place in many of the county’s schools is not positive. She specifically mentioned how the district is ignoring special needs students, and wants higher expectations to be set for all students.
Robinson told those gathered she’s glad positive things are being highlighted, but said there are still a lot of problems that the district needs to work through, specifically noting its approach to budgeting and equity.
Tonight the Hamilton County school board is having a joint meeting with the County Commission and is expected to discuss facilities and funding.
“If we want parents to do more, then we have to help them.” — EVERLENA HOLMES