The Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce has coordinated a successful Tennessee Scholars program for many years in cooperation with the Bradley County and Cleveland City School Systems. After discussions with directors of schools and a representative of Cleveland State Community College, local leaders agree that May 2015 is the right time for the Chamber to discontinue offering this program in our community.
“The implementation of Tennessee Promise, the more rigorous Tennessee graduation requirements and a change in Cleveland State’s distribution of scholarship funds make offering Tennessee Scholars both redundant in some areas and no longer effective for us in others,” Sherry Crye, coordinator of the Chamber’s Tennessee Scholars program, explained.
Endorsed by the Tennessee Department of Education and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Tennessee Scholars program began in Bradley County Schools in 2005.
The initial intent of the program was to encourage students to take more rigorous courses, especially in math, and to reach the middle 50 percent of students who were not likely to pursue post-secondary education so to enable them to realize this was a possibility.
The additional requirements to graduate as a Tennessee Scholar—80 hours of volunteer service, 95-percent attendance over four years and no out-of-school suspensions—were included to instill a good work ethic.
“The Tennessee Scholars program is not a scholarship program, but graduates do have an opportunity to apply for scholarships at Cleveland State Community College, Lee University, Bryan College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology,” Ms. Crye said. “Graduating as a Tennessee Scholar is also an honor earned in high school that would be an asset for any scholarships applied for at any university.”
To date 1,707 students from Bradley Central, Cleveland and Walker Valley High Schools and Tennessee Christian Preparatory School have graduated as certified Tennessee Scholars.
“We are proud of all of these graduates and the paths they have taken after high school to prepare themselves for our local workforce,” said Ms. Crye, who also serves as director of workforce development.
The Chamber’s involvement in education programs for our students continues to focus on meeting the growing demands local industries face in finding skilled labor.
“It is vital that our schools prepare students for post-secondary life whether that is a university, a community college, technical school or the workforce,” Ms. Crye concluded.