Chattem Inc. is donating $300,000 over four years to help the Hamilton County School system "continue its efforts to raise academic achievement levels for all students in Hamilton County," county school officials announced Friday.
“Public education is the No. 1 community issue, and it’s vital that the business community find ways to invest in our public schools," said Zan Guerry, chairman and chief executive officer of Chattem Inc. “Chattem is pleased to be part of this effort by making an investment that will enhance the learning opportunities and resources for the teachers and students in our school system.”
The system will use the donation to purchase Cognitive Algebra I Tutor labs for three middle schools and fund a new tuition reimbursement program for teachers wanting to earn a doctorate in Learning and Leadership at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga (UTC). The Chattem donation continues a long history of individuals and organizations supporting the school system, which has attracted more than $82 million in discretionary grants from private and public sources since 1998.
“As one of Chattanooga’s leading businesses, Chattem continues to demonstrate their commitment to improving public education with this generous gift to the teachers and students of Hamilton County Schools,” said Dr. Jesse Register, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. “Chattem is a leading example on how the business community can take an active role to improve public education in Hamilton County.”
The donation is the second major gift Chattem has made to Hamilton County Schools. In 2004, Chattem donated $150,000 as part of its Chattem/USAC Challenge that raised more than $480,000 to fund middle school athletics.
The school system will use $150,000 of Chattem’s educational investment to purchase three new Cognitive Algebra I Tutor labs that will be placed in Soddy Daisy Middle, Chattanooga High and Chattanooga School for Arts and Sciences. With these new labs, the school system will have a Cognitive Algebra I Tutor Lab in each middle school as part of its overall strategy to improve system-wide academic scores in Math.
The Cognitive Algebra I Tutor program is based on more than 20 years of research into how students think, learn and apply new knowledge in mathematics. The program uses students’ intuitive problem solving abilities as a powerful bridge to more formal and sophisticated mathematical comprehension, officials said.
The remaining part of Chattem’s investment in public education, $50,000 per year for the next three years, will provide the school system with the seed money to launch a new tuition reimbursement program for teachers wanting to earn a doctorate in Learning and Leadership from UTC. For teachers participating in the program, the district will reimburse 50 percent of their tuition costs.
UTC recently developed this new doctorate program to concentrate upon developing future leaders that possess exceptional understanding of teaching and learning strategies and can apply leadership skills to cope with the demands of today’s schools, it was stated.
“We are excited about this opportunity to work with Hamilton County Schools to identify and develop the future leaders for our public schools,” said Dr. Mary Tanner, dean of the College of Education
and Applied Professional Studies. “Hamilton County Schools and its partners continue to make significant investments in building strong instructional leadership in our public schools. This new doctorate program, in conjunction with the Osborne Fellows program, will have a long-term, positive impact for public education and the quality of teachers that are working in our public schools.”