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New York to Knoxville
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September 3, 2012
Paddling for clean water
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VOL. 6 NO. 36
IN THIS ISSUE
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Paddlers make their way from Ned McWherter Park to Sequoyah Park during the Fort Loudoun Lake Association’s sixth annual Paddle for Clean Water.
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Miracle Maker “Read, Read, Read” has long been Nancy Maland’s motto. She’s still preaching the gospel of the written word as Knox County Schools’ executive director of elementary education and is proud to report that an early literacy initiative piloted in five elementary schools last year has expanded to nine more schools.
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See Jake Mabe’s story on page A-9
By Wendy Smith
Coffee Break Keith Carver is executive assistant to UT President Joe DiPietro, but his relationship with the university began when he was growing up in rural West Tennessee. His father was a football and basketball coach, and family members considered UT “their” team. Meet Keith over a Coffee Break.
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See page A-2
Let’s talk academics ... “Georgia State?” Marvin West asks. “I think not. Let’s talk about something exciting, like academics.”
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See Marvin’s story on page A-5
Index Coffee Break A2 Wendy Smith A3 Government/Politics A4 Marvin West/Lynn Hutton A5 Dr. Bob Collier A6 Faith A7 Kids A8 Miracle Maker A9 Business A10 Health/Lifestyles Sect B Calendar B3
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Jan Rowe of Maryville didn’t know much about the Fort Loudoun Lake Association (FLLA) when she showed up to participate in the 2012 Paddle for Clean Water. She just enjoys being on the lake in her kayak. “You don’t need anxiety pills out there on the water. You don’t even need other people,” she says. More than 70 people participated in the 5-mile paddle, which began at Governor Ned McWherter/Riverside Landing Park and ended at Sequoyah Park. Many of them had never heard of FLLA before, says executive director Angela Howard, and that’s the reason for the annual event. “It’s a consistent way to get people out on the water, enjoying themselves and talking about the Fort Loudoun Lake Association.” Everyone who relaxes, or recreates, on our local waterways should be familiar with the FLLA. The nonprofit employs two zone managers, Kirk Fogerty and Jake Hudson, to patrol the lake daily and remove trash. The duo in 2011 removed more than 700 bags of trash, 3,500 logs and 240 large trash items. Fogerty has encountered all man-
ner of trash in the lake as a zone manager. The most interesting thing he’s taken out of the water this year was a dock roof. It was big, but hard to see, since it was mostly immersed. Education is the other major function of FLLA. Mike Gaugler is stormwater program manAmeriCorps member Chris Woudstra and Farragut Stormwater coordinator Jason Scott ager for the organiencourage Paddle for Clean Water participants to vote for Scott’s entry in the AmeriCorps zation. He talks to Photo Challenge. As of press time, his photo of a unicorn cleaning up a river was in first high school students place in the contest. Scott hopes to use prize money to help fund an outdoor classroom about stormwater in Farragut. Photos by Wendy Smith management and educates businesses, Howard points out that the work managers. A new boat donated by like manufacturing facilities, about how to safely dis- is done without any regular fund- the city brings the FLLA’s fleet up ing from the city or the county. Half to three, but current funding only pose of wastewater. He also monitors the health of lo- of the association’s funding comes pays for 1.5 men on the river each cal creeks. It’s important for people through private donations, and half day. The extra money would fund to understand that 99 percent of the comes from contracts and grants. another 1.5 positions, for a total of trash in Fort Loudoun made its way It’s not enough to tackle such a large three zone managers. job. Howard encourages those who into the lake via streams, he says. “There’s no one else doing gar- enjoy Knoxville’s waterways and The good news is that the work of care about the health of our waterFLLA is beginning to pay off. When bage pick-up on the lake.” The association is in the process shed to donate using the associaGaugler speaks to lake users, most say that the ammount of trash has of launching a capital campaign to tion’s website, www.fllake.org. For raise $50,000 to hire more zone more info: 523-3800. decreased over the past few years.
Computers are tools, not toys By Wendy Smith Do students learn better if they have their own computers? Yes, says Mooresville, N.C., superintendent Mark Edwards, and he has the data to prove it. The district ranks second in the state with 89 Mark Edwards percent of students meeting proficiency standards and boasts the state’s third-highest graduation rate of 90 percent, up from 68 percent in 2006. Edwards, who grew up in Knoxville and attended
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Pleasant Ridge Elementary School and West High School, was a guest speaker at the ninth annual Knox County Council PTA Education Forum, “The 21st Century Classroom.” The success of Mooresville’s “digital conversion” has been on Knox County Schools superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre’s radar, and he plans to visit the school system soon. He called Edwards’ presentation “great food for thought. “To me, it seems like a great initiative for us to be pursuing – not as an end, but as a means to an end, where the end point is student learning and student success.” Mooresville students in
grades 4 through 12 were provided with MacBook Airs in 2009. The goal was to bride a divide of digitalization, academics and hope, says Edwards. The computers were also intended to bring relevance to classroom instruction and help students better understand real-world work. It required a cultural shift. Teachers had to let go of traditional ways of teaching, and parents had to agree to ongoing training. Students had to learn a little extra responsibility. The district has become a model for digital conversion. A limited number of visitors are given a tour each month. Representatives from 38 states have visited
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so far, says Edwards. “They come in looking at the laptops, but they leave talking about the culture.” Part of the culture is collaboration. Students often work in groups and don’t sit in straight rows of desks. They use online resources instead of textbooks. Immediate feedback allows teachers to target specific needs and allows students to work at their own pace. As a result, test scores have risen in all ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups. While one laptop for every student seems piein-the-sky given today’s budgetary constraints, Mooresville demonstrates that budgets can be flexed to accommodate technology. A Charlotte, N.C., bedroom community with 5,800 students, it is mostly
working-class, says Edwards, and 42 percent of students are on free or reduced lunch. The district spends $7,463 on each student annually, or $1.25 on each student per day. Only 15 of the state’s 115 districts spend less. Knox County spends $8,508 on each student annually. McIntyre estimates that it would cost several million dollars to develop the infrastructure for Knox County Schools to provide “one-to-one” technology. For the community to get behind such an initiative, it would have to understand the return on the investment, he says. He echoed what he was recently told by a teacher: “What we need to communicate is that technology is not a toy, but a tool.”
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