November 8, 2018 at 5:30 PM - Bradley County Board of Education Regular Meeting

The idea of Make a Change Day was to take one day in Bradley County Schools and have supervisors, principals, teachers, empolyees, students, and the community bring in their change to help with the Sak Pak Program, Mr. Montgomery told the Board.  My Mix 104.1, United Way, and Caring Place partnered with Bradley County Schools to help with this project.  The total raised this year was $14,280.  Last year we raised 16,000.  That is 30,000 two days in two years for the students of Bradley County.  There are 585 sak paks sent home each Friday. 

The group that traveled to Germany with Wacker reported back to the Board about their trip. Brittany Cannon told the Board that the purpose of the trip was to go to their Wacker plant in Germany, learn more about their dual education system, and their way to education vocational students.  She also told them that the group wanted to look at ways as they move into the PIE center model, to better educate and train Bradley County students to become a more skilled work force while creating a steady pipe line for industries in our local area. 

They visited the vocational training center, which was hands on.  Then, the vocational training school where content and theory were taught, Patrick Spangler told the Board.  The students are driven with a purpose to their end goal - a career.

Arlette Robinson, CTE Director, told the Board that every area does a project and then test the project.  The students are hired through a company while in the vocational training center and this is sort of what we are working toward with our workbased learning programs. The students spend a few weeks in the company, a few weeks in the vocational training center, and few weeks in the vocational training school.  The school gives them the theory, the center gives them the applications, and then it is all applied at the job with the employer.  She said they also watched the younger generation being taught by the older generation in the plant. 

The group had a meeting with the President of Wacker and shared their experiences.  They talked with him about next steps in the relationship with Wacker and Bradley County Schools - PIE Center.

Dr. Cash told them that she found it interesting that education is at their forefront and the all dollars (local, state, federal, and industry) are funneled into the success of their education system because they are building their future with the students.  She told them that our funding needs to be looked at so we can give our students opportunities like these.