GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A10-11 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B | BUSINESS SECTION C
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karns / hardin valley
VOL. 50, NO. 20
MAY 16, 2011
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Little artists, big talent Hardin Valley Elementary hosts art show See page A-10
How it all began ...
The Karns High School Virtual Enterprise Program sells McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches two days a week to fundraise for competition costs. Photo by Valorie Fister.
KHS VE program brings business to life
Jake Mabe tours James White’s Fort, the first settlement in what later became the city of Knoxville. See Jake’s column on page A-6
FEATURED COLUMNIST BETTY BEAN
Music so sweet ‘Tennessee’ by John R. Bean has been named an official state song. Betty Bean reflects on her late brother’s life and his love for his home. See page A-4
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By Valorie Fister Last year, one of Vicki Gibson’s Karns High School students bought a Lamborghini with some hard-earned pay. And when another student bought a pet monkey, the ensuing parent phone call gave Gibson a golden opportunity to talk about how well that student was doing in her new Virtual Enterprise Program. “That parent called to say ‘That animal is not coming to my house!’ ” Gibson said. Both the monkey and the sports car were part of the new Karns High School business program started to give students hands-on, business experiences – in a virtual world. First created in New York City schools, the program is fast making its way into high schools across the country. It gives students a chance to become executives, vice presidents and employees in virtual firms all while earning virtual paychecks. Students can spend their virtual paychecks to
purchase a wide variety of virtual items such as cars and pets. At the start of each semester, a human resources executive is selected. That student executive then does all the hiring. Once everyone is hired, work begins. Students are tasked with operating smoothly while bringing products to market. The Karns class maintains a virtual Gameday Getup college apparel business complete with virtual website, marketing materials, catalog and trade show appearances. “The goal is to turn out students who are literate in business,” Gibson said. “Four or five of them make more than I do, virtually.” And recently, Gibson found a new partner to assist her virtual program. The West Knox Rotary Club sponsors the program and Rotarians volunteer their time and talents at the school. “These kids are getting valuable, real-life experience in writing business plans, preparing a budget, marketing and advertising
a product, display and sales,” said West Knox Rotarian and program liaison Dick Hinton. “That’s experience that business people love to see from high schoolers.” Hinton has visDick Hinton ited the classroom and spoken frequently to students. Rotarians Leo Knight and Ryan Howe also have contributed time and experience to the class by helping with website sales and marketing strategies. Hinton gives Gibson high praise for her work with the class and references her business background. Before her 17-year teaching career, Gibson worked in the business world for 15 years. She worked at CPA firms, law offices and held supervisory and training positions. Her undergraduate degree is in industrial training and she holds dual master’s degrees in human resources and education. Now she helps her students find
their way through a simulated business world. “They have to be creative and organized,” she said. “There is no text book and they have to keep each department going.” Hinton was able to attend the regional competition in Pigeon Forge. Nationals were held in New York City, where 40 states and eight countries were represented. Gibson even has the fundraising covered. Karns students sell McDonald’s breakfast sandwiches two days a week to earn money and learn sales skills while raising cash for competitions. Students like junior Bekah McDonald say their virtual experience has prompted them to pursue a career in business. “I see myself owning my own business.” In the virtual program, McDonald serves as the Chief Executive Officer. She said she “likes too many things” to narrow her options down to one product offering. “I’ll go to college and figure that out,” she said.
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Budget reduction will not affect library services By Jake Mabe A 2 percent reduction in the Knox County Public Library System’s $12 million budget (just under $300,000) in the coming fiscal year will not affect the library’s services to the public. Interim director Myretta Black said last week that she Black and her staff were able to find ways to cut the budget without affecting operations. “We were able to take some administrative positions and shift responsibilities,” Black says. “And we used those positions to create direct public staff hours, which allowed us to restore the hours (of operation).”
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Operating hours had been cut during the previous administration. Black said that Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett has been stopped “in the parking lot and at the store” by people thanking him for restoring the library’s hours, saying “it is the most positive thing he’s done. “That was a huge plus for our patrons. And it will continue with the coming budget. Mayor Burchett is 100 percent behind it and supportive of our system.” Black said that the shift in responsibilities represents about onethird of the cuts with the remainder coming from a small reduction in the library’s materials budget. “The public will not see any change in the services we provide.” Black says that several programs, including the Imagination
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Library, the recently-ended Saturday Stories and Songs, the Summer Library Club and the upcoming Children’s Festival of Reading, are funded through grants, private, corporate or community support, as well as through the Friends of the Library. She says that the Saturday Stories and Songs program, which was held in each quadrant of the county, was designed for working families who can’t get to the library through the week. “About half of the attendees were new patrons. We’re seeking grants to see if we can bring it back after the summer reading program is over.” Circulation for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2010, was more than 2.6 million, representing 1.6 million visits.
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“We have a terrific staff that works together,” Black said. “We have an administrative team that meets every two weeks. And our support staff and facility staff … everybody does a great job.” The library system is currently working to make Wi-Fi access available at the four branches that do not offer it – Halls, Corryton, Mascot and Carter. Black says ebooks have taken off since they were introduced in February, with 9,000 “check outs” from the 5,200 e-book collection. This should grow when e-books will be offered through Amazon’s Kindle e-reader later this year. “We’re in the planning mode for some new initiatives. We’re comfortable with this budget, we think it’s a positive budget, and we’re ready to move forward.”
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