Future Ready Institutes presented Community Impact Award by The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga
In the first year of existence, the Future Ready Institutes in Hamilton County high schools have earned the recognition of making a significant impact on the community. The Future Ready Institutes were presented the Community Impact Award by The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga at the groups Equal Opportunity breakfast held Tuesday, October 30 at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson, Board Member Tiffanie Robinson, and Director of the Future Ready Institutes Blake Freeman accepted the award.
Future Ready Institutes kicked off with the beginning of the new school year in August, and the programs at 13 Hamilton County high schools have quickly made their mark on the community. The new “schools within a school” have a career theme and connect lessons learned in the classroom with the skills needed to be successful after graduation.
Future Ready Institutes challenge the traditional approach to education in high schools by developing career-themed small learning communities. Teachers of all content areas including English, math, science and social studies work closely with the career theme teacher to provide classroom instruction through the lens of a career. The goal is for students to clearly understand why a lesson is important and how they will use the information in the future. Themes in the institutes include medicine, robotics, forensic science, engineering, hospitality, technology and more. There are 20 Future Institute programs now available for high school students in Hamilton County Schools.
“The board challenged us as school district leaders to prepare graduates of Hamilton County Schools to be post-secondary ready and prepared to succeed in college or a career,” said Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson. “The Future Ready Institutes, through partnerships with community leaders are a vital part of the mission to provide opportunities in our schools today and possibilities for the future of our graduates and their families.”
Business and industry leaders have quickly signed on to be a part of Future Ready Institutes. Erlanger is working with The Howard School to offer the Erlanger Institute of Healthcare and Innovation. Bryan College teams with East Hamilton for The Bryan College Institute of Marketing and Business, and EPB has The EPB Institute of Technology and Networking at Tyner Academy. Unum has sponsored teacher training to get the Future Ready Institutes off to a great start, and JP Morgan Chase also provided funding support to take Future Ready Institutes from a concept vision to an award-winning program making an impact on the community. Additional business and industry partners are coming forward to join the Future Ready team, and more are being sought to help prepare graduates for success after high school.
“This is a tremendous honor we received today from The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga,” said Blake Freeman. “We welcome more business and industry leaders to join us as we prepare our graduates and our community for a brighter future with Future Ready Institutes.”
Photo: Dr. Dan Challener, president of Public Education Foundation, presents the Community Impact Award to Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson, Blake Freeman, director of Future Ready Institutes of Hamilton County Schools, and Tiffanie Robinson, District 4 representative on the Hamilton County Board of Education