Hamilton County Department of Education Interim Superintendent Dr. Kirk Kelly announced that University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Dean Dr. Valerie Rutledge will be the keynote speaker at the 36th Annual Superintendent’s Honors Banquet. The event is sponsored by Hamilton County School’s Fund for Excellence and will begin at 7 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
The annual tribute recognizes the top 10 per cent of each graduating class at Hamilton County’s 17 high schools. Participants are selected based on their grade point average at the end of the first semester of their senior year. This year, 321 students and their parents will be honored.
“I am thrilled to be in the position to recognize these students for their outstanding academic achievements,” Dr. Kelly said. “They are our future leaders thanks to the education they received here in Hamilton County. These 321 students perfectly exemplify why one of our strategic focus areas at HCDE is Future Ready: Prepare All Students for College and Career.”
The celebration will begin with the presentation of colors and Pledge of Allegiance, brought to us by the Brainerd High School JROTC. Students and their parents will then hear from the Fund for Excellence President Sharon Vandagriff, School Board Chairman Dr. Steve Highlander, Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, and Assistant Superintendents Dr. Lee McDade, Dr. Justin Robertson. School Board Vice-Chair Karitsa Mosley Jones will offer the meditation.
Along with a certificate commemorating their academic accomplishments, each student will receive an invitation to return to Hamilton County Schools as a teacher, upon successful completion of college and all the requirements for holding a Tennessee teaching license.