Students at Valley View Elementary School benefit from the official BEST partnership between the school and Downtown Design Studio, an architectural firm owned by Doug Caywood. Caywood is a Valley View graduate and father to two students at the school, Ben and Xander. In the foreground are kindergarteners taught by Barbara Edwards, far right. In the background, acknowledging the partnership, are from left, Sherrie Ledford, principal; Caywood; and Sherry Crye, director, workforce development, Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce. In front of those accepting the framed certificates are Ben and Xander Caywood. BEST (Business & Education Serving Together) is a workforce development initiative of the Chamber of Commerce.
“Perhaps one of the greatest reasons our community continues to thrive is that we encourage connection, that we foster a sense of shared purpose,” said Nancy Neal, communications vice president for the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce.
No more clearly is that community connection seen than in the Business & Education Serving Together (BEST) partnership program of the Chamber of Commerce.
BEST partnerships focus on “community”—the business and education communities of Cleveland and Bradley County serving together for a shared purpose.
The newest BEST partnership connects Valley View Elementary School and Downtown Design Studio PLLC.
Valley View Elementary School has been a “community” school since its beginning. In 1951 Valley View became the first consolidated school in the Bradley County School System.
“Four tiny rural schools—Zion, Union Grove, Number Four and Liberty— were brought together when Valley View was built with six classrooms and a cafeteria,” Principal Sherrie Ledford recounted. “The cafeteria also served as an auditorium with a stage. It did not have a library or even an office.”
This community school became overcrowded in its first five years, and four additional classrooms were built in 1957.
“Because of the school’s distance from town, Valley View has always been a gathering place for community activities,” Ms. Ledford said, noting that the Valley View Ruritan Club still meets in the cafeteria once each month.
“Doug Caywood and his family have been an important part of Valley View Elementary School since the doors were first opened,” the principal noted. “It seems very fitting that he has now made the commitment to be our business partner.”
Doug Caywood, AIA, CIS, CDT, is an architect and owner of Downtown Design Studio.
“I went to Valley View Elementary from kindergarten through sixth grade,” Mr. Caywood said. “My mom, brother, aunts and cousins also attended Valley View. Our family has been and is still very involved at Valley View and in this community.”
Mr. Caywood is a product of the Bradley County School System, having graduated from Bradley Central High School as valedictorian in 1993. He attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture, again graduating as valedictorian in 1998. He gained work experience in Knoxville until he returned to Cleveland in 2003.
“I was back ‘home,’ ” the young architect said. “After moving back, I married Jill Humberd, who is the granddaughter of Maxine Humberd, my fourth-grade teacher at Valley View. We purchased a home from which we can see the school.”
He continued, “As I walk the halls at Valley View now, I see a teacher who was there when I was in elementary school, as well as friends from my elementary school years, that are now teaching my children.”
Principal Ledford describes Mr. Caywood as “sort of a legend in his own time.”
“When I first became the principal at Valley View, a few of Doug’s former teachers were still at Valley View, and they would share stories with me about what an amazing student he always was,” she said. “Doug has been active in serving this school even before becoming our BEST partner, so this just feels like everything has come full circle.”
She added that Mr. Caywood is “a very gifted and creative young man.”
“One of his many talents is his ability to write grants, and Valley View has already been the recipient of his grant writing ideas,” Ms. Ledford noted. “We are so fortunate to have Doug as a parent, a community servant, and a man with a true heart for helping children.”
Mr. Caywood has specifically assisted with grant writing applications for arts in education grants through the Chamber’s Allied Arts Council. He has served the past two years as a “WatchDOG” at Valley View. This program involves dads as mentors at the school.
Mr. Caywood’s firm has worked on various capital outlay projects for Bradley County Schools as well and is currently involved in numerous projects for the city of Cleveland at Tinsley Park, Waterville Golf Course and the South Cleveland Community Center. He has served as president of MainStreet Cleveland and chaired the Cleveland Historic Preservation Commission.
“We look forward to partnering with the faculty and students at Valley View Elementary School,” he said. “Valley View holds a special place in my heart as an alumnus, as a parent and now as a business partner.”
“Valley View and Downtown Design Studio already know that a good partnership involves a commitment of time, energy and expertise between the business and the school,” Ms. Neal said. “Doug is obviously committed to the Valley View community and the Cleveland/Bradley County community as a whole. He has already proven that a small business can make a tremendous contribution to the ‘learning’ community. We anticipate hearing great things about this partnership effort.”
Sherry Crye, director of workforce development for the Chamber of Commerce, coordinates the BEST partnership program.
“The partnership between Downtown Design Studio and Valley View is a perfect fit,” Ms. Crye said. “We are always excited to find Chamber-member businesses like Doug’s that are genuinely interested in helping our local schools through our BEST partnership program. Doug is a great example of a member of our workforce who received a good education in our public schools and went on to prepare for the job of his choice. He reinforces our belief that the better we prepare our students today, the better our workforce will be in the years to come.”
According to Ms. Crye, schools in the Bradley County and Cleveland City School Systems have one or more local business partners as part of the BEST program. Private schools that are Chamber members may also participate in the program.
For information about the BEST partnership program, call Ms. Crye at 472-6587.