VOL. 7 NO. 15
IN THIS ISSUE
Miracle Maker Knox County Schools’ Career and Technical Education department will hold its capstone event, CTE Goes Live, Friday, April 19, at Market Square. Jake Mabe interviews CTE director Don Lawson about the event and other CTE programs.
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See Jake’s story on page A-9
‘Cobra’s Kiss’ Bearden High School’s advanced acting class, taught by Glen Ellington, will break new ground as it presents the school’s first audience-participation play, “Curse of the Cobra’s Kiss.” The whodunit revolves around the mayhem that ensues after the discovery of an ancient Egyptian king’s tomb.
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See Wendy Smith’s story on A-3
How to follow a legendary coach Following a legendary coach is a daring high-wire act. History says there are far more missteps, slips, falls and crashes than happy landings.
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See Marvin West’s story on A-6
The harder half We complain about paying taxes; it’s right there in the Bill of Rights: “Americans have the right to complain about sending part of their hard-earned money to Washington.” Well, maybe it isn’t there in so many words, but still …
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See Lynn Hutton’s story on A-6
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Dine Out for Education Knox County Schools’ 10th annual “Dine Out for Education” will be held Tuesday, April 16, at nearly 40 restaurants with 80 locations throughout Knox County. Participants who eat at the selected restaurants will automatically have 10 percent of their pre-tax total donated to the Knox County Schools Partners in Education program, which helps fund programs including the Career Fair for 8th graders and high school students, the Teacher Supply Depot and the Barney Thompson Scholarship. Nearly $20,000 was raised during last year’s event. Participating restaurants can be found at www.knoxschools.org.
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Bearden gets wired By Wendy Smith Principal John Bartlett is thrilled that Bearden High School was one of 11 Knox County schools chosen to receive funding for a 1:1 technology effort. Next fall each of Bearden’s almost 2,000 students will have a computer to use in class and at home, and the building will be wired for school-wide Internet access. Bartlett’s had a vision for computers in the classroom for three or four years, he says. But he also feels “the weight of the world” on his shoulders. Since Bearden is the county’s largest school, Bartlett understands the magnitude of the investment. Also, because this is a pilot program, he knows his efforts will be studied by other schools if the initiative is expanded. Twenty-eight of Knox County’s schools applied for the challenge grant. Bearden and West Valley Middle School were the only West Knox schools selected. In spite of the challenges ahead, Bartlett is confident that the transition will be successful. “We’re going to get this done. I understand the risk, but I also understand that the reward is better student engagement. That’s what we’re working for.” While the physical manage- Mike Smyth of Digital Group pulls wires at Bearden High School to provide ment of 2,000 computers is daunt- Internet access for the school’s 2,000 students next fall. Photo by Wendy Smith
ing, he anticipates that the biggest challenge will be the cultural shift. Teachers will spend two weeks this summer talking about how to incorporate computers into their classrooms. Some are more resistant than others, he says. The payoff will be what Bartlett calls “authentic learning.” Such learning was demonstrated when he put together a presentation after Bearden was chosen as a finalist in the technology challenge. He asked three students to make a video, and it took them just three hours to go from storyboard to final product. That’s the kind of real-world experience students can have through technology, he says. He stresses that the most important factor in student learning, outside of the home, will always be teachers. But technology allows for learning without limits, he says. For example, a physics student can learn about velocity and acceleration by designing a roller coaster online. “You can’t do that in real life, and you can’t do it on a chalkboard.” Technology also allows teachers to “flip” their classroom by having students watch online lectures in the evening and practice problemsolving during class time. One challenge will be making More on A-2
Conner Harville headed to Cannes By Anne Hart Think Cannes. Think the dazzling French Riviera. The gorgeous yachts. Elegant hotels. Luxury shopping. Movie stars. The excitement surrounding the annual Cannes Film Festival. Think Knoxville’s own Conner Harville. This time next month the young Knoxville film producer will be right there in the middle of it all, experiencing the glamour and adventure as one of 40 young people from around the world selected to attend the Creative Minds Filmmaker Institute, a part of the film festival. The institute has as its mission to find the next generation of talented film and TV professionals and usher them into the entertainment indus-
try. Their work will be scrutinized by icons in the industry. The students will attend classes and networking meetings, and will divide into small groups with each producing a film that must be written, shot and edited – all in France and all within just seven days. But that’s nothing new to Harville. He’s practically old hat at the business of producing a short film in a very short amount of time. His local company, Horned Matador Productions, earlier this year took second place overall in Knoxville’s own Fifty-Four Hour Film Festival and won first place for best sound design. As the name would indicate, each of the 28 films presented was created from start to finish in just 54 hours.
“I think I probably got about six hours sleep during that time, but it was worth it,” Harville says. The result of that effort is a film titled “Aden,” which can be viewed online. It is in the process Harville of being reviewed to be shown in the “short film corner” at Cannes. A graduate of Bearden High School who also attended CAK, Harville is a UT junior majoring in communication and film production. He says he first became interested in film as a fifth-grader at CAK when he did a school project on pro-
ducer Steven Spielberg. “Ever since then, I have wanted to make movies. My family (he is the son of Sandra Harville Harrison and Dr. Lacy Harville) has been very supportive, especially my grandfather, (the late) Tom Gunnels and also my Bearden drama teacher, Leann Dickson. She still checks in on me every once in a while to make sure I am still following my dreams. ” And about that fifth grade school project on Steven Spielberg? Turns out Spielberg’s the president of the Cannes festival’s grand jury this year. Says young Harville about that: “It would be very, very cool to meet the man who inspired my dreams.” Harville says his goal is to direct feature length films. Popcorn anyone?
Community school coordinators reflect on first year By Wendy Smith There are still kinks to work out at Knox County’s three new community schools. But site resource coordinators at Green Magnet, Lonsdale and Norwood elementary schools see favorable results from afterschool programs that benefit students and their families. All are optimistic that the programs will be even better next year.
Analysis The coordinators have been surprised and pleased by the organizations that have offered afterschool programming to students. Liz Thacker coordinates the pro-
gram at Norwood, which serves approximately 100 students five days a week. For example, Thacker contacted the Northwest Middle School step team to see if they would be willing to perform for her students. The coach asked Liz Thacker if, instead, the middle school students could put on a mini-camp. The camp, held last week, was fun for all. Adam Fritts, coordinator of Lonsdale’s community school, is amazed by how the need for programming often dovetails perfectly with an organization’s need
to provide it. The Joy of Music School receives grants that require it to provide education, and the 90 kids who participate in Lonsdale’s Monday through Thursday community school program are a perfect match. Erika Long coordinates programming for the 60 students who attend Green Magnet community school five days a week. She’s enthusiastic about a garden club that’s being offered with the help of UT’s Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries Department and Agricultural Extension Service. Volunteers have cleaned out an old greenhouse at the school to be used during the school day as well as by community school participants.
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Each community school also has needs. Thacker would like to see more community buy-in. She hopes to have the opportunity to reach out to service clubs and neighborhood associations, but says there aren’t enough hours in the day. “You’re sort of a jack-of-alltrades in this job, especially during the pilot year,” she says. “Nobody knows what you’re doing.” Fritts would like to have more volunteers at Lonsdale who can develop relationships with students and families. “My job is to put people in the same room. Our biggest successes are correlated with that happening,” he says. The school’s involveMore on A-2
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