Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) will tour Cleveland High School, Walker Valley High School and Hardwick Clothes Tuesday as he continues to monitor the Labor Education Alignment Program. The program, sponsored by Senator Norris, provides for cooperative efforts between government, education and businesses to fill the skills gaps in the local workforce pool, while increasing the number of Tennesseans with post-secondary degrees.
The Cleveland High School tour will begin at 10 a.m. at 850 Raider Dr., while the Walker Valley High School tour will start at 11 a.m. at 750 Lauderdale Memorial Hwy. The Hardwick Clothes tour will begin at 1:30 p.m. at 3800 Old Tasso Road NE.
Senator Norris will also meet with local leaders at a reception hosted by Bradley County Mayor Tom Rowland at 3 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express on Paul Huff Parkway in Cleveland.
A 2017 LEAP Report, released by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission about the program, notes that through the completion of LEAP 1.0, students from 51 counties participated in 19,847 training and workforce development experiences. Projects engaged students through a range of activities, including enhancing Career and Technical Education offerings, initiating new dual enrollment and dual credit courses in partner high schools, establishing or expanding new academic programs at Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology and community colleges, and facilitating employer engagement with students via professional training events, academic camps, job shadowing and internships.
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission has requested a $20 million grant for LEAP during the 2017-2018 budget year.