September 16, 2024 • 35 mins
In this exciting episode of "Endless Possibilities," host Phil Ramsey dives into the vast array of post-secondary opportunities available for students in the Tipton County School System. Joined by Amanda Heath, Vice President of Student Affairs for TCAT Northwest, and Harvey Witherington, Career Technical Education Director for Tipton County Schools, the discussion explores dual enrollment programs, industry certifications, and hands-on learning experiences that prepare students for successful careers.
Discover how partnerships between TCAT and local high schools are shaping the future workforce, offering programs in fields such as Digital Agronomy, Automotive Technology, and Welding. Learn about the seamless transition opportunities from high school to technical college and beyond, including articulation agreements with universities for further education.
Stay tuned for exciting updates, including the groundbreaking of a new TCAT campus in Covington and innovative grants aimed at advancing the hospitality and tourism industry in rural West Tennessee. Whether you're a student, parent, or community member, this episode is packed with valuable information about the endless possibilities available in Tipton County.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Music.
(00:26):
Welcome to another episode of Endless Possibilities. I'm your host,
Phil Ramsey, and we have a couple people in the studio today.
We're going to be talking about post-secondary opportunities for our kids at
the Tipton County School System.
And I tell you, I've been talking with these guys here prior to recording. I'm excited.
So what I'd like you to do is introduce yourself.
(00:48):
Good morning. I'm Amanda Heath. I am the Vice President of Student Affairs for
the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Northwest. West.
I am also a proud graduate of the Tipton County School System.
I'm Harvey Witherington, also a proud graduate of Byers Hall High School,
now Covington High School.
I'm the Career Technical Education Director for all three high schools in Tipton County.
(01:11):
Now, Harvey, if I'm not mistaken, you know, I've been out of school a long time,
a very, very, very long time, and
I think you were there in administration probably when I was in school.
I've been there a long time, too. How many years have you had?
Actually, this is my 52nd year in education.
(01:32):
And I still enjoy going to work and seeing folks and working with people.
And so that's the only reason I'm still working. I'll just be totally honest
with you. But if I didn't have good people to work with, I'd leave tomorrow.
Yeah. Well, good. It's good to have you all with us today. We're going to be
got some neat things we're going to be talking about. I just want to ask you a few questions.
(01:53):
Amanda, you work for TCAT. What are some of the programs that the TCAT offers
Tipton County School students?
Tipton County Schools and TCAT Northwest partnership spans almost two decades.
I've worked for TCAT for 25 years, and we have been working together most of those 25 years.
Dual enrollment is when a high school student receives credit at two institutions at the same time.
(02:19):
At the high school level, the class is applied toward their high school diploma,
while at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, they are receiving hours
toward their program's certificate or diploma.
At the TCAT Northwest Covington location, high school students can enroll in
Administrative Office Technology, Automotive Technology, Computer Informations Technology,
(02:43):
Digital Agronomy, Electric Vehicle Production Technology, Farming Operations
Technology, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.
Hybrid electric vehicle, industrial maintenance, machine tool technology,
pharmacy technology, and welding technology.
And then we have expanded also our dual enrollment offerings into the actual
(03:07):
high school so the students can take the dual enrollment classes right there
at the high school. They don't have to leave the high school campus.
So at Brighton High School, students can enroll in farming operations technology.
And at both the Covington and Mumford High Schools, we offer for digital agronomy,
farming operations, and welding technology as dual enrollment courses.
Yeah, Amanda, I was out there a couple weeks ago. I got to tour the school.
(03:31):
I was getting some photographs for another project that I was on,
and it's been a long time since I've been out there, and I was really,
really impressed with the campus and getting to walk around and go in the different
classrooms and see everything that you offered was amazing.
I wish those things were around when I was a senior.
I'm finding as I photograph a lot of high school seniors and as they go to TCAT,
(03:55):
a lot of them do, some of these guys are making a lot of money.
And the ones I talk to are some of these guys who are in the maintenance program
who are getting out of school making $30, $40 an hour. It's amazing.
To be 19 or 20 and have that potential for that salary at At that young age,
I wish I would have been able to do that, too.
(04:16):
But that is one thing that we are proud of, is that we are able to help the
workforce and provide our students a very good salary for their family.
And importantly, we encourage them to stay within the community that they've
grown up in, which further helps our county.
So, Harvey, we actually have these classes happening on site at our Tiffin County
(04:40):
school system. Is that correct? Yeah, Phil, that's exactly right.
You know, we have these classes there. And of course, we also have students that are going to TCAT.
In fact, you know, again, we thank Robin Sealy and Jeff Huffman for that.
You know, they provide transportation.
Students drive their own vehicles, of course, some to TCAT for half a day,
whether it's morning or afternoon.
(05:01):
And then they return back to the high school for the rest of the day.
And again, most of them are seniors.
Actually, we have 934 students that are actually enrolled in our TCAT in our
three high schools, and 52 of those actually go to the campus TCAT.
(05:22):
And what I was saying a minute ago, they either drive or buses take them for
a half a day, and then they return back to their original high school after that.
So during the day, there are buses that actually go to these schools and transport
the kids to the school? That's exactly correct. Right. Yes.
County Executive Huffman came to us a few years ago, our president,
Dr. Yolanda Jones, and asked,
(05:45):
you know, what are some barriers to students participating in dual enrollment?
And one of the things that we told County Executive Huffman was transportation.
So he worked with Tipton County Schools, and the students actually will get
on the bus at their high school, and the school bus provides the transportation to TCAT.
(06:05):
The students are generally there from 8 to 10.30 in the morning is the morning
session, and then our afternoon session is 12 to 2.30.
The buses will return, pick those students up, and then take them back to the high school.
And Tipton County Schools does allow the students that can provide their own
transportation to drive to TCAT.
But that has really opened up the ability for students that unfortunately don't
(06:29):
have the transportation that they can still participate in something.
So the county and Tipton County Schools really bought into that to help provide
access to all of our students.
Yeah, actually, generally, we have seniors that actually come to TCAT.
But really, Amanda, now, thanks to the state legislation in 2022,
(06:50):
the dual enrollment grant, which I know you understand that,
was expanded to freshmen and sophomores can also attend TCAT,
which now, I know y'all just got through registering a lot of our kids in all
three high schools in ag.
And that's what I'm saying. We've got around 900 that enrolled in our ag program
that can take courses, starting as freshmen, under what's called farming operations technology.
(07:15):
And those kids, by the time they graduate, if they have five ag courses,
they can maybe get up to, let's say, 500 hours of credit toward like a 1,200-hour
course that you have at TCAT.
So it's pretty much just like these kids take dual enrollment classes in college.
And some of these kids come out now, Phil, and they've got a year and a half credit in college.
(07:39):
And they can do the same thing at TCAT thanks to what Margaret,
I mean, excuse me, Amanda, I'm talking about your sister, Bright and I,
what we actually do with the school.
So it's a great thing. And it's all student benefit, Phil.
That's what this is all about. And I'll be honest with you. Talking about jobs
a minute ago, of course, my mom and dad made us all go to college and.
(08:01):
Back in the day, that's pretty much, you did that or you went straight to workforce.
I would have been wildlife manager, park ranger, or something like that,
had I taken wildlife management in high school.
I would have done that instead of going to college. I'm glad I did now,
of course, and wouldn't be doing this interview right now if I hadn't have.
(08:22):
But nonetheless, it's all about what you're interested in, and that's what we
offer students in my programs in the high school in CTE years,
you know, we've got over 50 courses.
So we try to get kids interested in something in life to be a totally a productive citizen of our society.
(08:42):
And that's what it's all about. Right. And it is about providing these opportunities
for Tipton County students.
When I was in high school years ago, we didn't have a lot of these opportunities.
But the state and post-secondary education have seen the importance of working together.
And so we have these programs that are available.
(09:03):
And like Mr. Harvey said, we want students to find something that they're interested in.
I tell people all the time, find something you love and make money at it because
you don't want to be miserable going to work every day.
And as As you can see from his 50 plus years and my 25 years,
we love what we do in education.
And it's so very, very important. But we want these students to find something
(09:27):
that they're interested in.
And like Mr. Harvey was saying with wildlife management, you know,
now you can go to a TCAT during high school and right after you graduate.
And that's just the beginning.
You can go on to a community college or university and use what you've learned
at the TCAT to help you. Maybe you have to work through college.
(09:48):
Well, you can work with training you got at TCAT and help fund your way through college.
And we also have articulation agreements.
We're very, very excited. We just
recently signed an agreement with the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Where it provides a unique one plus three program for students interested in
pursuing a career in agriculture.
(10:10):
TCAT students can receive up
to 30 credit hours towards a four-year agricultural degree at UT Martin.
And we also have an articulation agreement with Dyersburg State for our industrial maintenance programs.
So post-secondary, the TCATs, the community colleges and universities are working
together to help all of our students to have a seamless transition in education.
(10:35):
And that's what it's about. It's about these students and them being able to
become successful. You just said something a few minutes ago.
A lot of people I talk to are just absolutely miserable at what they do.
And it's such a neat program at a young age to look at all the different opportunities
and the different jobs that are out there.
(10:56):
Back in the day when I was a young man, there wasn't a lot of things to do.
You went to a factory or you did this job, but now it's just you got the things
that you mentioned already, the digital agronomy. Yeah, I can't even say the word.
Digital agronomy. That's fascinating. At the ball games, the Cunningham High
games, Jerry Johnson's kids are the ones that fly the drones.
(11:18):
For watching the play. Yeah. They learned that in Jerry's digital agronomy class.
And I mean, I've gone up there and of course they're smart. You know,
I've watched them do this and they can go any direction they want to.
And, you know, one of them dived in my head one time.
Yeah, they're probably doing that on purpose. They can do it.
I mean, you know, these kids now can do so much with technology.
(11:40):
And we do teach the drone and we also encourage our students to get the FAA
Part 107. That's the drone certification. And so that is another thing that
we do work well as a partnership together.
We strongly encourage not only our dual enrollment students,
but our college students, our adult students to get industry certifications.
And we have grants that help the students to get those industry certifications.
(12:04):
So, again, it's about the student and putting more.
Certifications with their training that they get at TCAT to say,
listen, we're meeting a national standard.
This student has passed this industry certification that's recognized.
And of course, as Tipton County area, since we're speaking specifically about
(12:26):
Tipton County, agriculture is a huge part of what makes up our county.
And so our digital agronomy and farming operations is teaching these students
how they can use technology,
the drones, the GPS mapping to understand what needs to be planted,
when, where, what fertilizer.
(12:47):
It's amazing what all goes into determining what you plant.
Yeah, you get on a tractor these days and you're just, you're almost getting
into a cockpit of an airplane.
All the different computer systems and, you know, Like you said,
the technology that's used to make farming great and utilize every bit of your
(13:08):
land and be smart as you put the chemicals down.
It's just, you know, what would you think farmers would have said years ago,
you know, 50 years ago, if we told them that this is what's going to happen?
Hey, you're going to sit in your tractor and you're going to sit there and it's
going to drive itself and it's going to take care of everything.
They would say you're absolutely crazy.
I got into farming in 88 for about five years with a guy.
(13:29):
And at the end of five years, I said, would you like to buy me out?
But back then, you know, we just had old 1086 International,
and, you know, we didn't have it in case, no air.
But now, I know Wade Cromwell, who's a good friend of mine, said to me a couple
years ago, I wish you all taught in the high schools how to drive a tractor and plant.
(13:51):
He said, because it's so mechanized now, we can't get anybody to really understand how to do it.
He said, Brandon and I do it, but he said a lot of people just can't do it.
And when something happens to us, we can't do it. So it's really amazing.
And I would like to mention that, too. You know, as part of our program with
the Digital Agronomy and Farming Operations, at the TCATS, we are very much hands-on.
(14:14):
That is one of the things that we teach. We are preparing our students for a career.
So we want them to get the theory. Theory is very, very important.
You've got to be able to learn about it and then do it. but
we do a lot of work-based learning activities so
our instructors and I'm going to say specifically Todd
Reeder our digital agronomy you guys talked to him the other day and I
(14:35):
can he told me about this yes our farming operations and
Todd Reeder he will take our students out he has partnerships with with farmers
and they will get in the tractor and they will see it and they will learn the
different parts of that because that is important because they are very very
scientific now very automated.
(14:56):
Technology has just blown us away in all facets, and that includes agriculture as well.
What, after a student graduates high school and they want to continue in a program
at TCAT, how long does it take to actually get a certification?
So all of our programs that we have at TCAT Northwest, and I do want to mention
(15:16):
that TCAT Northwest is five locations. So we have locations at Covington,
Ripley, New Bern, Bells, and Union City.
And so of those programs, our programs are anywhere from, we have a truck driving
program that's about two months, and then we have some programs that are as long as 20 months.
For dual enrollment, they will get credit for everything that they've done at
(15:39):
the high school. So that will shorten the program.
But most of our programs have a certificate after the first four months of training. So as Mr.
Harvey was discussing, since legislation expanded it to include freshmen and sophomores in 2022.
It is very possible that someone starting as a freshman could earn the first,
(16:02):
if not two, certificates while they're in high school.
And that is the whole reason why legislation expanded that.
They want students to come out of high school with skills, with certifications,
and they've got the middle college for the community colleges to get them able
to go right into the workforce if they wanted to.
(16:23):
We certainly encourage our students to come back and finish and get that diploma
so that as you were talking about our industrial maintenance students walking
out the door, you know, at 27, 28, 31 dollars, and that's at 19 and 20 years old.
And that's also not owing $100,000 when you got out of college.
(16:43):
And again, I'm not against college whatsoever.
I remember one time when Buddy Bibb was superintendent, and he said something
to me one time. He was making a speech, and I did.
And I said, well, I'm just going to tell you folks, I'm not really for college.
I thought he was going to fire me right on the spot.
And I said, I'm for post-secondary opportunities, not college,
(17:04):
which includes college. But post-secondary encompasses so much,
and if you look at the stats, Phil, on the people that graduate from college
that go, I bet it's under 20%.
And, you know, what are those other 80% going to do? I mean,
that's just what it's all about.
And so, you know, you don't have to go to college to be successful.
(17:25):
You know, again, back when I was growing up, you know, yeah,
you're supposed to go to college and all that.
And it's just changed so much now. And people aren't looked down upon.
And really, when I started this job, we were the low end of the totem pole in vocational education.
If you were in vocational classes back in the 80s, late 80s,
(17:47):
you were kind of in the, what, loser category. And I'm just being honest about it.
And now, Phil, out of the top 10 graduates at each high school,
on the average, six of those top 10, they graduate now with honors.
Or CTE concentrators in my area.
(18:08):
So it's all changed over the years. It has.
And for us at TCATS, part of our accreditation is we are required to keep up with our.
Completion rate, our placement rate, and our licensure rate for our health programs
that require licensure.
So for the 22-23 year, we had a completion rate of 79%. That means 79% of the
(18:31):
students that walked in received some type of certificate to go to work.
Of those, we placed 85% in a related field.
What they were trained for, we put 85% to work. And our Our license replacement rate is 97 percent.
And we do again, we do not participate in the federal student loan program.
So our students leave with no debt. And we're very thankful to our third party
(18:54):
agencies that help those students.
Since I have been working, I have seen the implementation of the Waternaife
Technical Skills Grant. That is from the lottery scholarship.
There is no income limit on that. And then the governor introduced Tennessee Promise.
That's for our high school graduates. If they don't have enough financial aid
(19:14):
to pay their tuition, Tennessee Promise will come in and pay their tuition.
And then a year or two after that, the governor saw the need for it to be an
adult program. So we have TCAT Reconnect.
And so again, if they don't have enough financial aid to cover their tuition,
then the state will pay the rest of their tuition. So it is a great time.
(19:35):
I know we're here talking about high school and high school graduation.
But if you have parents, grandparents out there that are thinking about maybe
coming back to school, it is a great time to come back to school in Tennessee
because there's a lot of opportunities that are available.
And people say, well, what's your normal age range out there?
(19:57):
We are getting younger, but we take, now really we take younger than 18,
but I've always said 18 to 81. Mm-hmm.
There's no bad time to come back to school and get training.
And so we're very thankful for the support that we have.
But yes, we are about putting our students to work in the community so that
(20:20):
they can produce a salary that will benefit not only them, but also our community.
So guys, what's on the horizon for the TCAT and Tipton County School System? What do you see?
Well, I mean, I think the possibilities are absolutely endless on that.
I mean, we've gotten, you know, grants, a SPARC grant, GIVE grant,
(20:43):
and those things give us extra money that we just don't have right now, feel extra.
I mean, we have good money out there coming to us.
Dr. Combs is very good. I'm going to talk about that after a while,
what he's actually given us over the years in the last three years,
but we offer over 50 courses now.
(21:03):
We're hoping to expand to at least 60. It's like, for instance,
we didn't offer culinary in our schools.
Dr. Combs has put over a half a million dollars in culinary supplies and equipment
for each of the high schools, and that's a huge industry now,
especially after COVID.
Everybody got laid off, and nobody would go back to work that wouldn't hire.
(21:27):
So that's just a big thing. But we've got so many things planned in our school
systems that, and really, I'll be honest with you, there are so many things out there now, Phil,
that people don't have a clue what we offer in CTE in our high schools.
They honestly don't have a clue.
Dr. Combs has given us $3.5 million in the last three years to expand on equipment
(21:52):
and supplies in our schools.
We have pieces of equipment now that Diasburg State doesn't have in the nursing program.
We've got things that Ann Johnson's got a new farm fresh center down there, $1 million.
She sells lettuce to the school system now. We have a veterinary science.
(22:14):
We're actually, Munford has a clinic. It's a veterinary clinic statewide.
We've already been approved, state licensed clinic, and they do everything but x-rays down there.
You know, you go to vet, it takes three weeks to get in. You go here, it takes a day.
They've spayed and neutered over 6,000 animals in the last six years,
thanks to Jeff Huffman giving us the money for the vets and our kids.
(22:38):
And work-based learning do that. Brighton's got the exact same thing.
Covington is now looking at doing microchips up there on animals.
So we've got a lot of things on the horizon that we're hoping that are going to come about soon.
But again, you have to have backing. And that's, again, one reason why I'm still working.
(22:58):
John Combs has backed me all the way. Rebecca Burt has backed me.
Our school board has backed us.
And as long as I get that backing and they do good things for us,
for our kids, I'm going to hang around at least another year or two,
maybe. I don't know how much longer.
My health will last, I guess I will. But there's just so many good things going
on right now in our schools.
(23:19):
And I'll be honest, I'll be more than happy to give anybody a tour of our school
system in CTE anytime they want. We do tours every year.
In fact, September 25th, this month, We've got the county commissioners,
school board members, legislators, mayors.
(23:39):
We've invited all them, and we've already got a tour lined up at each school.
And then eating at Ann's Farm Fresh Center, the Ag Center down at Mudford.
And Ann's not the only one that has done that.
I've got five teachers have all contributed to it.
That's going to be a big day for us, and we did it last year,
and four commissioners, county commissioners, came up to me when it was over
(24:01):
with and said, I had no idea this is what y'all do in the schools.
Four came up to me and said that. Two school board members said,
I have no idea that y'all did this.
So until you get in the schools and actually see what we do,
and I'll tell you what I did, Ms.
Amanda, about five years ago, my teachers, I was in an in-service with them,
(24:24):
and I said, how many of y'all have been to TCAT in the last five to 10 years
and actually see what they're doing over there?
Not a single person raised their hand. And I said, I'll tell you what I'm going
to do. I'm going to work on this.
I called Amanda and I said, I want a tour into your luncheon.
Can you provide lunch for us? Of course, you know, I'm always going to say that.
(24:46):
And she did provide lunch for us, and on top of that, we toured everything.
Our teachers, my teachers can't explain to the kids what they need to do if
they don't know what's there themselves.
Yeah. So that was a big thing for us. All the teachers went and they said,
I can't believe this stuff is here.
(25:07):
So really, Phil, I mean, you just don't understand what's out there until you
actually see it. Yeah, and that's really important.
The reason why we started this podcast is to let people know actually what's
going on, because most people are just not going to take the time or really
have any interest to go in and see what what's offered there,
(25:29):
but we're able to educate by having people like you on here to let the community
know, let the parents know.
What, what goes in our school system? Yeah. If you don't have any children in
the school system, then, you know, again, you're right.
What's the interest? You know, why would I want to do this? Why would I want
to go out and visit one of the cotton gins?
(25:50):
You know, if I'm not a farmer or, you know, whatever.
I mean, you're just not going to do that. Yeah. But everybody knows. And that's what I say.
You may not have any children. Like, my daughter is 2023 graduate of Brighton
High School. But you know somebody.
I know still have people that are in elementary, middle, and high school.
So even if you don't have children, to know what's available in your community,
(26:14):
is a big thing just like the community
garden our todd reader and his our digital
agronomy students have been very involved in that community garden
and i hope that people understand the value of that community
garden and how much has been donated to our food pantries to help our community
out is think little things like that that a lot of people don't know about and
(26:35):
we want them to know and i appreciate that mr harvey wants to bring his uh instructors
and guidance counselors in so that we can show what we're about.
That's the big thing is getting out there.
I mean, yes, we have been there since the late 60s, but we need people to understand
what we have that's available to the students here in Tipton County.
(26:58):
And now with the financial aid, the way it is, you know, you could have a student
go get their Tennessee promise at a TCAT, then do an articulation agreement
with a community college, then go on to a university.
University just because a student chooses TCAT doesn't
mean that they can't go on to a community college or university at
a later point in time in life we encourage that again with the articulation
(27:21):
agreements we've tried to make that as seamless as possible but it allows the
students to come to a TCAT are and now of course I am biased I've been there
25 years if I didn't believe in what TCATs offer I shouldn't be working there just like Mr.
Harvey he believes in what he does our tuition is very low compared to other
(27:42):
colleges and community colleges in the state and in the country.
So come to a TCAT, get that entry-level information.
Don't have any debt, then go on to the community college, go on to university,
and while you're doing that, work in a job that's going to pay more than minimum wage.
(28:02):
And again, that's what it's about. It's about workforce force development and
being prepared to go into the workforce and make a good living.
And then once you finish your education, whether, and we have a lot of students
that once they finish TCAT, as y'all have already said, walk out making very, very good money.
And I'm proud to say that. I'm proud to say that a lot of our students will
(28:23):
make more money than I'll ever see. And that's what it's all about.
I mean, that's a pride for me.
I had a student just tell me yesterday that their brother works in Massachusetts
for a car company and loves it.
And that's what we want. Those are the stories that we want to see, the success stories.
But we have so many success stories here in Tipton County.
(28:45):
And I love that the Tipton County Schools is doing the endless possibilities,
putting it on social media, letting people see how successful our graduates
are and that they've stayed in Tipton County and they're making Tipton County even better.
And our community support, again, I say a special thank you to County Executive
Huffman and Ms. Robin Seeley.
We call Ms. Robin Seeley a TCAT employee as well because she just promotes us.
(29:09):
But the scholarships that they have available, they help our dual enrollment
students with books and supplies. And then to all Tipton County graduates,
the students can apply for a scholarship.
For the TCATs, a high school graduate can receive up to $400 a term.
We're on the trimester schedule.
And I'll just be honest, my daughter is at a University of Tennessee school
(29:30):
now, and she receives a scholarship of $500 to help her.
And that comes from Tipton County. So the support that we have from the county
for our students, no matter where they decide to go after high school, is amazing.
So, Amanda, you have some exciting news coming up pretty soon. Yes, we do.
(29:51):
So just actually I have two exciting news. Just last week,
we received notification that we are a recipient of the GIVE 3.0 grant for a
project entitled Advancing the Hospitality and Tourism Industry in rural West Tennessee.
And that goes along with what Mr. Harvey was saying about culinary and how big
of a business that's becoming. So we hope to work together there.
(30:14):
And then the governor has put in a generational investment.
That's what we're calling it, into the TCATs. And the Covington location is
going to receive a replacement campus.
So on October 1st at 10 a.m., we're going to have a groundbreaking.
And we encourage everyone from the community to come out and see what the new
(30:35):
campus is going to look at.
Look like. It's going to take about two, two and a half years to finish it up.
It's a big project. Huge project.
About 50 million, give or take. And we are very excited about that.
So October 1st at 10 a.m., please come and see.
First, I want to thank you, Amanda, for all the help that you've done with me.
And one thing I did mention.
(30:55):
TCAT has helped us with. They have paid for our OSHA 10 certifications,
which I think are like $32 a piece now for our students that take that.
They've also have given 10-meg welders to each of our high schools,
and that helps Jerry Johnson, Bill Newsom, and Dual Welding,
which we also, of course, have with TCAT.
(31:16):
So that's been very good. And, you know, one of the questions you asked me a
little while ago, Phil, on, you know, What are we going to do extra or plans for our future?
Well, one of the things we do is a lot of expansions. And like one of the expansions
would be in our work-based learning program.
And some of you say, well, what's work-based learning? Well,
(31:36):
let me give you a quick example.
We've got 40 students in our vet science program at Munford High School and Brighton High School.
These students work with the veterinarians that Jeff Uphman pays for to run
our animal clinics, and they're there all day, two students this period,
three students the next period, and they do everything over there.
(31:59):
They clean. They help with surgeries, everything, and these kids are so interested
in what they're doing, and I know one, Ms.
Dana Mills, told me at Brighton she's got a kid that's in second year now in
vet school, and you don't have to be a vet. You can be a vet tech. Dana was a vet tech.
And so, you know, we want to expand and get 80 kids in that.
(32:22):
We want to get them in every other area.
We had 388 students last year. They got industry certifications in like 12 areas.
We've got a lot of things on the horizon that we're, that we're trying to totally
just totally incept right now.
And I mean, we want to work with y'all, but I've got to thank my CTE staff.
I've got 34 teachers And I said this earlier, if I didn't work with those 34, I would quit tomorrow.
(32:47):
They are some of the best people I've ever worked with before in my life.
And they're so dedicated. And they've bought all in.
To these CTE programs. I don't have a single one of them that hasn't bought
all in to help these programs.
In fact, when you're hired in CTE, there's kind of a code of the West type thing.
(33:09):
You know, there's no sloughing.
These people stay to five o'clock, six o'clock. They go weekends.
They go and take kids on these CTSOs in HOSA and FFA and FBLA and DECA.
I mean, they're busy all all the time.
And those CTSO programs, student organization programs, are just as important.
One of the biggest things I hear from people, Phil, is when I talk to businesses,
(33:31):
I said, what do you want to look at?
I'm not too interested in your report card. Well, what do you want? Are they showing up?
Can they get along with people? Well, in these CTSOs, it's just like a football
team. Everybody works together.
You know, you've got three people in a group. If you don't work together and
get along, then you're fired. You're gone.
(33:52):
So I feel real good about that. And I'll say this braggingly,
that's not really a word.
Henry Glass uses that on some of the that's not a word, but we have,
I don't know any other West Tennessee program that can compare to us,
to our CTE programs with what we have.
And again, I'll thank John Combs for giving me three and a half million dollars
(34:12):
of ESSER money in the last three years.
And again, if you'd like to tour or visit, all you got to do is contact me and
I'll set that up anytime that you want out of the 12 months.
And I sure appreciate you having me, Phil, Ms. Amanda. Yes, thank you.
Thank you, thank you, Mr. Harvey, for the partnership. And we open our invitation up as well.
(34:34):
Ashley Henderson is our dual enrollment coordinator and her staff.
We just really all work hard and we want the community to know about TCAT and
our partnerships and what we're doing to prepare the students for their future.
I think we can say that the opportunities are there.
Absolutely. If you want to be successful, it's not because we don't have the
(34:57):
opportunities, they are there.
And so it's great to have you guys with us today and excited about the future.
Thank you. We'll see you next time for another edition of Endless Possibilities.
Music.
Music.
(00:26):
Welcome to another episode of Endless Possibilities. I'm your host,
Phil Ramsey, and we have a couple people in the studio today.
We're going to be talking about post-secondary opportunities for our kids at
the Tipton County School System.
And I tell you, I've been talking with these guys here prior to recording. I'm excited.
So what I'd like you to do is introduce yourself.
(00:48):
Good morning. I'm Amanda Heath. I am the Vice President of Student Affairs for
the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Northwest. West.
I am also a proud graduate of the Tipton County School System.
I'm Harvey Witherington, also a proud graduate of Byers Hall High School,
now Covington High School.
I'm the Career Technical Education Director for all three high schools in Tipton County.
(01:11):
Now, Harvey, if I'm not mistaken, you know, I've been out of school a long time,
a very, very, very long time, and
I think you were there in administration probably when I was in school.
I've been there a long time, too. How many years have you had?
Actually, this is my 52nd year in education.
(01:32):
And I still enjoy going to work and seeing folks and working with people.
And so that's the only reason I'm still working. I'll just be totally honest
with you. But if I didn't have good people to work with, I'd leave tomorrow.
Yeah. Well, good. It's good to have you all with us today. We're going to be
got some neat things we're going to be talking about. I just want to ask you a few questions.
(01:53):
Amanda, you work for TCAT. What are some of the programs that the TCAT offers
Tipton County School students?
Tipton County Schools and TCAT Northwest partnership spans almost two decades.
I've worked for TCAT for 25 years, and we have been working together most of those 25 years.
Dual enrollment is when a high school student receives credit at two institutions at the same time.
(02:19):
At the high school level, the class is applied toward their high school diploma,
while at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, they are receiving hours
toward their program's certificate or diploma.
At the TCAT Northwest Covington location, high school students can enroll in
Administrative Office Technology, Automotive Technology, Computer Informations Technology,
(02:43):
Digital Agronomy, Electric Vehicle Production Technology, Farming Operations
Technology, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration.
Hybrid electric vehicle, industrial maintenance, machine tool technology,
pharmacy technology, and welding technology.
And then we have expanded also our dual enrollment offerings into the actual
(03:07):
high school so the students can take the dual enrollment classes right there
at the high school. They don't have to leave the high school campus.
So at Brighton High School, students can enroll in farming operations technology.
And at both the Covington and Mumford High Schools, we offer for digital agronomy,
farming operations, and welding technology as dual enrollment courses.
Yeah, Amanda, I was out there a couple weeks ago. I got to tour the school.
(03:31):
I was getting some photographs for another project that I was on,
and it's been a long time since I've been out there, and I was really,
really impressed with the campus and getting to walk around and go in the different
classrooms and see everything that you offered was amazing.
I wish those things were around when I was a senior.
I'm finding as I photograph a lot of high school seniors and as they go to TCAT,
(03:55):
a lot of them do, some of these guys are making a lot of money.
And the ones I talk to are some of these guys who are in the maintenance program
who are getting out of school making $30, $40 an hour. It's amazing.
To be 19 or 20 and have that potential for that salary at At that young age,
I wish I would have been able to do that, too.
(04:16):
But that is one thing that we are proud of, is that we are able to help the
workforce and provide our students a very good salary for their family.
And importantly, we encourage them to stay within the community that they've
grown up in, which further helps our county.
So, Harvey, we actually have these classes happening on site at our Tiffin County
(04:40):
school system. Is that correct? Yeah, Phil, that's exactly right.
You know, we have these classes there. And of course, we also have students that are going to TCAT.
In fact, you know, again, we thank Robin Sealy and Jeff Huffman for that.
You know, they provide transportation.
Students drive their own vehicles, of course, some to TCAT for half a day,
whether it's morning or afternoon.
(05:01):
And then they return back to the high school for the rest of the day.
And again, most of them are seniors.
Actually, we have 934 students that are actually enrolled in our TCAT in our
three high schools, and 52 of those actually go to the campus TCAT.
(05:22):
And what I was saying a minute ago, they either drive or buses take them for
a half a day, and then they return back to their original high school after that.
So during the day, there are buses that actually go to these schools and transport
the kids to the school? That's exactly correct. Right. Yes.
County Executive Huffman came to us a few years ago, our president,
Dr. Yolanda Jones, and asked,
(05:45):
you know, what are some barriers to students participating in dual enrollment?
And one of the things that we told County Executive Huffman was transportation.
So he worked with Tipton County Schools, and the students actually will get
on the bus at their high school, and the school bus provides the transportation to TCAT.
(06:05):
The students are generally there from 8 to 10.30 in the morning is the morning
session, and then our afternoon session is 12 to 2.30.
The buses will return, pick those students up, and then take them back to the high school.
And Tipton County Schools does allow the students that can provide their own
transportation to drive to TCAT.
But that has really opened up the ability for students that unfortunately don't
(06:29):
have the transportation that they can still participate in something.
So the county and Tipton County Schools really bought into that to help provide
access to all of our students.
Yeah, actually, generally, we have seniors that actually come to TCAT.
But really, Amanda, now, thanks to the state legislation in 2022,
(06:50):
the dual enrollment grant, which I know you understand that,
was expanded to freshmen and sophomores can also attend TCAT,
which now, I know y'all just got through registering a lot of our kids in all
three high schools in ag.
And that's what I'm saying. We've got around 900 that enrolled in our ag program
that can take courses, starting as freshmen, under what's called farming operations technology.
(07:15):
And those kids, by the time they graduate, if they have five ag courses,
they can maybe get up to, let's say, 500 hours of credit toward like a 1,200-hour
course that you have at TCAT.
So it's pretty much just like these kids take dual enrollment classes in college.
And some of these kids come out now, Phil, and they've got a year and a half credit in college.
(07:39):
And they can do the same thing at TCAT thanks to what Margaret,
I mean, excuse me, Amanda, I'm talking about your sister, Bright and I,
what we actually do with the school.
So it's a great thing. And it's all student benefit, Phil.
That's what this is all about. And I'll be honest with you. Talking about jobs
a minute ago, of course, my mom and dad made us all go to college and.
(08:01):
Back in the day, that's pretty much, you did that or you went straight to workforce.
I would have been wildlife manager, park ranger, or something like that,
had I taken wildlife management in high school.
I would have done that instead of going to college. I'm glad I did now,
of course, and wouldn't be doing this interview right now if I hadn't have.
(08:22):
But nonetheless, it's all about what you're interested in, and that's what we
offer students in my programs in the high school in CTE years,
you know, we've got over 50 courses.
So we try to get kids interested in something in life to be a totally a productive citizen of our society.
(08:42):
And that's what it's all about. Right. And it is about providing these opportunities
for Tipton County students.
When I was in high school years ago, we didn't have a lot of these opportunities.
But the state and post-secondary education have seen the importance of working together.
And so we have these programs that are available.
(09:03):
And like Mr. Harvey said, we want students to find something that they're interested in.
I tell people all the time, find something you love and make money at it because
you don't want to be miserable going to work every day.
And as As you can see from his 50 plus years and my 25 years,
we love what we do in education.
And it's so very, very important. But we want these students to find something
(09:27):
that they're interested in.
And like Mr. Harvey was saying with wildlife management, you know,
now you can go to a TCAT during high school and right after you graduate.
And that's just the beginning.
You can go on to a community college or university and use what you've learned
at the TCAT to help you. Maybe you have to work through college.
(09:48):
Well, you can work with training you got at TCAT and help fund your way through college.
And we also have articulation agreements.
We're very, very excited. We just
recently signed an agreement with the University of Tennessee at Martin.
Where it provides a unique one plus three program for students interested in
pursuing a career in agriculture.
(10:10):
TCAT students can receive up
to 30 credit hours towards a four-year agricultural degree at UT Martin.
And we also have an articulation agreement with Dyersburg State for our industrial maintenance programs.
So post-secondary, the TCATs, the community colleges and universities are working
together to help all of our students to have a seamless transition in education.
(10:35):
And that's what it's about. It's about these students and them being able to
become successful. You just said something a few minutes ago.
A lot of people I talk to are just absolutely miserable at what they do.
And it's such a neat program at a young age to look at all the different opportunities
and the different jobs that are out there.
(10:56):
Back in the day when I was a young man, there wasn't a lot of things to do.
You went to a factory or you did this job, but now it's just you got the things
that you mentioned already, the digital agronomy. Yeah, I can't even say the word.
Digital agronomy. That's fascinating. At the ball games, the Cunningham High
games, Jerry Johnson's kids are the ones that fly the drones.
(11:18):
For watching the play. Yeah. They learned that in Jerry's digital agronomy class.
And I mean, I've gone up there and of course they're smart. You know,
I've watched them do this and they can go any direction they want to.
And, you know, one of them dived in my head one time.
Yeah, they're probably doing that on purpose. They can do it.
I mean, you know, these kids now can do so much with technology.
(11:40):
And we do teach the drone and we also encourage our students to get the FAA
Part 107. That's the drone certification. And so that is another thing that
we do work well as a partnership together.
We strongly encourage not only our dual enrollment students,
but our college students, our adult students to get industry certifications.
And we have grants that help the students to get those industry certifications.
(12:04):
So, again, it's about the student and putting more.
Certifications with their training that they get at TCAT to say,
listen, we're meeting a national standard.
This student has passed this industry certification that's recognized.
And of course, as Tipton County area, since we're speaking specifically about
(12:26):
Tipton County, agriculture is a huge part of what makes up our county.
And so our digital agronomy and farming operations is teaching these students
how they can use technology,
the drones, the GPS mapping to understand what needs to be planted,
when, where, what fertilizer.
(12:47):
It's amazing what all goes into determining what you plant.
Yeah, you get on a tractor these days and you're just, you're almost getting
into a cockpit of an airplane.
All the different computer systems and, you know, Like you said,
the technology that's used to make farming great and utilize every bit of your
(13:08):
land and be smart as you put the chemicals down.
It's just, you know, what would you think farmers would have said years ago,
you know, 50 years ago, if we told them that this is what's going to happen?
Hey, you're going to sit in your tractor and you're going to sit there and it's
going to drive itself and it's going to take care of everything.
They would say you're absolutely crazy.
I got into farming in 88 for about five years with a guy.
(13:29):
And at the end of five years, I said, would you like to buy me out?
But back then, you know, we just had old 1086 International,
and, you know, we didn't have it in case, no air.
But now, I know Wade Cromwell, who's a good friend of mine, said to me a couple
years ago, I wish you all taught in the high schools how to drive a tractor and plant.
(13:51):
He said, because it's so mechanized now, we can't get anybody to really understand how to do it.
He said, Brandon and I do it, but he said a lot of people just can't do it.
And when something happens to us, we can't do it. So it's really amazing.
And I would like to mention that, too. You know, as part of our program with
the Digital Agronomy and Farming Operations, at the TCATS, we are very much hands-on.
(14:14):
That is one of the things that we teach. We are preparing our students for a career.
So we want them to get the theory. Theory is very, very important.
You've got to be able to learn about it and then do it. but
we do a lot of work-based learning activities so
our instructors and I'm going to say specifically Todd
Reeder our digital agronomy you guys talked to him the other day and I
(14:35):
can he told me about this yes our farming operations and
Todd Reeder he will take our students out he has partnerships with with farmers
and they will get in the tractor and they will see it and they will learn the
different parts of that because that is important because they are very very
scientific now very automated.
(14:56):
Technology has just blown us away in all facets, and that includes agriculture as well.
What, after a student graduates high school and they want to continue in a program
at TCAT, how long does it take to actually get a certification?
So all of our programs that we have at TCAT Northwest, and I do want to mention
(15:16):
that TCAT Northwest is five locations. So we have locations at Covington,
Ripley, New Bern, Bells, and Union City.
And so of those programs, our programs are anywhere from, we have a truck driving
program that's about two months, and then we have some programs that are as long as 20 months.
For dual enrollment, they will get credit for everything that they've done at
(15:39):
the high school. So that will shorten the program.
But most of our programs have a certificate after the first four months of training. So as Mr.
Harvey was discussing, since legislation expanded it to include freshmen and sophomores in 2022.
It is very possible that someone starting as a freshman could earn the first,
(16:02):
if not two, certificates while they're in high school.
And that is the whole reason why legislation expanded that.
They want students to come out of high school with skills, with certifications,
and they've got the middle college for the community colleges to get them able
to go right into the workforce if they wanted to.
(16:23):
We certainly encourage our students to come back and finish and get that diploma
so that as you were talking about our industrial maintenance students walking
out the door, you know, at 27, 28, 31 dollars, and that's at 19 and 20 years old.
And that's also not owing $100,000 when you got out of college.
(16:43):
And again, I'm not against college whatsoever.
I remember one time when Buddy Bibb was superintendent, and he said something
to me one time. He was making a speech, and I did.
And I said, well, I'm just going to tell you folks, I'm not really for college.
I thought he was going to fire me right on the spot.
And I said, I'm for post-secondary opportunities, not college,
(17:04):
which includes college. But post-secondary encompasses so much,
and if you look at the stats, Phil, on the people that graduate from college
that go, I bet it's under 20%.
And, you know, what are those other 80% going to do? I mean,
that's just what it's all about.
And so, you know, you don't have to go to college to be successful.
(17:25):
You know, again, back when I was growing up, you know, yeah,
you're supposed to go to college and all that.
And it's just changed so much now. And people aren't looked down upon.
And really, when I started this job, we were the low end of the totem pole in vocational education.
If you were in vocational classes back in the 80s, late 80s,
(17:47):
you were kind of in the, what, loser category. And I'm just being honest about it.
And now, Phil, out of the top 10 graduates at each high school,
on the average, six of those top 10, they graduate now with honors.
Or CTE concentrators in my area.
(18:08):
So it's all changed over the years. It has.
And for us at TCATS, part of our accreditation is we are required to keep up with our.
Completion rate, our placement rate, and our licensure rate for our health programs
that require licensure.
So for the 22-23 year, we had a completion rate of 79%. That means 79% of the
(18:31):
students that walked in received some type of certificate to go to work.
Of those, we placed 85% in a related field.
What they were trained for, we put 85% to work. And our Our license replacement rate is 97 percent.
And we do again, we do not participate in the federal student loan program.
So our students leave with no debt. And we're very thankful to our third party
(18:54):
agencies that help those students.
Since I have been working, I have seen the implementation of the Waternaife
Technical Skills Grant. That is from the lottery scholarship.
There is no income limit on that. And then the governor introduced Tennessee Promise.
That's for our high school graduates. If they don't have enough financial aid
(19:14):
to pay their tuition, Tennessee Promise will come in and pay their tuition.
And then a year or two after that, the governor saw the need for it to be an
adult program. So we have TCAT Reconnect.
And so again, if they don't have enough financial aid to cover their tuition,
then the state will pay the rest of their tuition. So it is a great time.
(19:35):
I know we're here talking about high school and high school graduation.
But if you have parents, grandparents out there that are thinking about maybe
coming back to school, it is a great time to come back to school in Tennessee
because there's a lot of opportunities that are available.
And people say, well, what's your normal age range out there?
(19:57):
We are getting younger, but we take, now really we take younger than 18,
but I've always said 18 to 81. Mm-hmm.
There's no bad time to come back to school and get training.
And so we're very thankful for the support that we have.
But yes, we are about putting our students to work in the community so that
(20:20):
they can produce a salary that will benefit not only them, but also our community.
So guys, what's on the horizon for the TCAT and Tipton County School System? What do you see?
Well, I mean, I think the possibilities are absolutely endless on that.
I mean, we've gotten, you know, grants, a SPARC grant, GIVE grant,
(20:43):
and those things give us extra money that we just don't have right now, feel extra.
I mean, we have good money out there coming to us.
Dr. Combs is very good. I'm going to talk about that after a while,
what he's actually given us over the years in the last three years,
but we offer over 50 courses now.
(21:03):
We're hoping to expand to at least 60. It's like, for instance,
we didn't offer culinary in our schools.
Dr. Combs has put over a half a million dollars in culinary supplies and equipment
for each of the high schools, and that's a huge industry now,
especially after COVID.
Everybody got laid off, and nobody would go back to work that wouldn't hire.
(21:27):
So that's just a big thing. But we've got so many things planned in our school
systems that, and really, I'll be honest with you, there are so many things out there now, Phil,
that people don't have a clue what we offer in CTE in our high schools.
They honestly don't have a clue.
Dr. Combs has given us $3.5 million in the last three years to expand on equipment
(21:52):
and supplies in our schools.
We have pieces of equipment now that Diasburg State doesn't have in the nursing program.
We've got things that Ann Johnson's got a new farm fresh center down there, $1 million.
She sells lettuce to the school system now. We have a veterinary science.
(22:14):
We're actually, Munford has a clinic. It's a veterinary clinic statewide.
We've already been approved, state licensed clinic, and they do everything but x-rays down there.
You know, you go to vet, it takes three weeks to get in. You go here, it takes a day.
They've spayed and neutered over 6,000 animals in the last six years,
thanks to Jeff Huffman giving us the money for the vets and our kids.
(22:38):
And work-based learning do that. Brighton's got the exact same thing.
Covington is now looking at doing microchips up there on animals.
So we've got a lot of things on the horizon that we're hoping that are going to come about soon.
But again, you have to have backing. And that's, again, one reason why I'm still working.
(22:58):
John Combs has backed me all the way. Rebecca Burt has backed me.
Our school board has backed us.
And as long as I get that backing and they do good things for us,
for our kids, I'm going to hang around at least another year or two,
maybe. I don't know how much longer.
My health will last, I guess I will. But there's just so many good things going
on right now in our schools.
(23:19):
And I'll be honest, I'll be more than happy to give anybody a tour of our school
system in CTE anytime they want. We do tours every year.
In fact, September 25th, this month, We've got the county commissioners,
school board members, legislators, mayors.
(23:39):
We've invited all them, and we've already got a tour lined up at each school.
And then eating at Ann's Farm Fresh Center, the Ag Center down at Mudford.
And Ann's not the only one that has done that.
I've got five teachers have all contributed to it.
That's going to be a big day for us, and we did it last year,
and four commissioners, county commissioners, came up to me when it was over
(24:01):
with and said, I had no idea this is what y'all do in the schools.
Four came up to me and said that. Two school board members said,
I have no idea that y'all did this.
So until you get in the schools and actually see what we do,
and I'll tell you what I did, Ms.
Amanda, about five years ago, my teachers, I was in an in-service with them,
(24:24):
and I said, how many of y'all have been to TCAT in the last five to 10 years
and actually see what they're doing over there?
Not a single person raised their hand. And I said, I'll tell you what I'm going
to do. I'm going to work on this.
I called Amanda and I said, I want a tour into your luncheon.
Can you provide lunch for us? Of course, you know, I'm always going to say that.
(24:46):
And she did provide lunch for us, and on top of that, we toured everything.
Our teachers, my teachers can't explain to the kids what they need to do if
they don't know what's there themselves.
Yeah. So that was a big thing for us. All the teachers went and they said,
I can't believe this stuff is here.
(25:07):
So really, Phil, I mean, you just don't understand what's out there until you
actually see it. Yeah, and that's really important.
The reason why we started this podcast is to let people know actually what's
going on, because most people are just not going to take the time or really
have any interest to go in and see what what's offered there,
(25:29):
but we're able to educate by having people like you on here to let the community
know, let the parents know.
What, what goes in our school system? Yeah. If you don't have any children in
the school system, then, you know, again, you're right.
What's the interest? You know, why would I want to do this? Why would I want
to go out and visit one of the cotton gins?
(25:50):
You know, if I'm not a farmer or, you know, whatever.
I mean, you're just not going to do that. Yeah. But everybody knows. And that's what I say.
You may not have any children. Like, my daughter is 2023 graduate of Brighton
High School. But you know somebody.
I know still have people that are in elementary, middle, and high school.
So even if you don't have children, to know what's available in your community,
(26:14):
is a big thing just like the community
garden our todd reader and his our digital
agronomy students have been very involved in that community garden
and i hope that people understand the value of that community
garden and how much has been donated to our food pantries to help our community
out is think little things like that that a lot of people don't know about and
(26:35):
we want them to know and i appreciate that mr harvey wants to bring his uh instructors
and guidance counselors in so that we can show what we're about.
That's the big thing is getting out there.
I mean, yes, we have been there since the late 60s, but we need people to understand
what we have that's available to the students here in Tipton County.
(26:58):
And now with the financial aid, the way it is, you know, you could have a student
go get their Tennessee promise at a TCAT, then do an articulation agreement
with a community college, then go on to a university.
University just because a student chooses TCAT doesn't
mean that they can't go on to a community college or university at
a later point in time in life we encourage that again with the articulation
(27:21):
agreements we've tried to make that as seamless as possible but it allows the
students to come to a TCAT are and now of course I am biased I've been there
25 years if I didn't believe in what TCATs offer I shouldn't be working there just like Mr.
Harvey he believes in what he does our tuition is very low compared to other
(27:42):
colleges and community colleges in the state and in the country.
So come to a TCAT, get that entry-level information.
Don't have any debt, then go on to the community college, go on to university,
and while you're doing that, work in a job that's going to pay more than minimum wage.
(28:02):
And again, that's what it's about. It's about workforce force development and
being prepared to go into the workforce and make a good living.
And then once you finish your education, whether, and we have a lot of students
that once they finish TCAT, as y'all have already said, walk out making very, very good money.
And I'm proud to say that. I'm proud to say that a lot of our students will
(28:23):
make more money than I'll ever see. And that's what it's all about.
I mean, that's a pride for me.
I had a student just tell me yesterday that their brother works in Massachusetts
for a car company and loves it.
And that's what we want. Those are the stories that we want to see, the success stories.
But we have so many success stories here in Tipton County.
(28:45):
And I love that the Tipton County Schools is doing the endless possibilities,
putting it on social media, letting people see how successful our graduates
are and that they've stayed in Tipton County and they're making Tipton County even better.
And our community support, again, I say a special thank you to County Executive
Huffman and Ms. Robin Seeley.
We call Ms. Robin Seeley a TCAT employee as well because she just promotes us.
(29:09):
But the scholarships that they have available, they help our dual enrollment
students with books and supplies. And then to all Tipton County graduates,
the students can apply for a scholarship.
For the TCATs, a high school graduate can receive up to $400 a term.
We're on the trimester schedule.
And I'll just be honest, my daughter is at a University of Tennessee school
(29:30):
now, and she receives a scholarship of $500 to help her.
And that comes from Tipton County. So the support that we have from the county
for our students, no matter where they decide to go after high school, is amazing.
So, Amanda, you have some exciting news coming up pretty soon. Yes, we do.
(29:51):
So just actually I have two exciting news. Just last week,
we received notification that we are a recipient of the GIVE 3.0 grant for a
project entitled Advancing the Hospitality and Tourism Industry in rural West Tennessee.
And that goes along with what Mr. Harvey was saying about culinary and how big
of a business that's becoming. So we hope to work together there.
(30:14):
And then the governor has put in a generational investment.
That's what we're calling it, into the TCATs. And the Covington location is
going to receive a replacement campus.
So on October 1st at 10 a.m., we're going to have a groundbreaking.
And we encourage everyone from the community to come out and see what the new
(30:35):
campus is going to look at.
Look like. It's going to take about two, two and a half years to finish it up.
It's a big project. Huge project.
About 50 million, give or take. And we are very excited about that.
So October 1st at 10 a.m., please come and see.
First, I want to thank you, Amanda, for all the help that you've done with me.
And one thing I did mention.
(30:55):
TCAT has helped us with. They have paid for our OSHA 10 certifications,
which I think are like $32 a piece now for our students that take that.
They've also have given 10-meg welders to each of our high schools,
and that helps Jerry Johnson, Bill Newsom, and Dual Welding,
which we also, of course, have with TCAT.
(31:16):
So that's been very good. And, you know, one of the questions you asked me a
little while ago, Phil, on, you know, What are we going to do extra or plans for our future?
Well, one of the things we do is a lot of expansions. And like one of the expansions
would be in our work-based learning program.
And some of you say, well, what's work-based learning? Well,
(31:36):
let me give you a quick example.
We've got 40 students in our vet science program at Munford High School and Brighton High School.
These students work with the veterinarians that Jeff Uphman pays for to run
our animal clinics, and they're there all day, two students this period,
three students the next period, and they do everything over there.
(31:59):
They clean. They help with surgeries, everything, and these kids are so interested
in what they're doing, and I know one, Ms.
Dana Mills, told me at Brighton she's got a kid that's in second year now in
vet school, and you don't have to be a vet. You can be a vet tech. Dana was a vet tech.
And so, you know, we want to expand and get 80 kids in that.
(32:22):
We want to get them in every other area.
We had 388 students last year. They got industry certifications in like 12 areas.
We've got a lot of things on the horizon that we're, that we're trying to totally
just totally incept right now.
And I mean, we want to work with y'all, but I've got to thank my CTE staff.
I've got 34 teachers And I said this earlier, if I didn't work with those 34, I would quit tomorrow.
(32:47):
They are some of the best people I've ever worked with before in my life.
And they're so dedicated. And they've bought all in.
To these CTE programs. I don't have a single one of them that hasn't bought
all in to help these programs.
In fact, when you're hired in CTE, there's kind of a code of the West type thing.
(33:09):
You know, there's no sloughing.
These people stay to five o'clock, six o'clock. They go weekends.
They go and take kids on these CTSOs in HOSA and FFA and FBLA and DECA.
I mean, they're busy all all the time.
And those CTSO programs, student organization programs, are just as important.
One of the biggest things I hear from people, Phil, is when I talk to businesses,
(33:31):
I said, what do you want to look at?
I'm not too interested in your report card. Well, what do you want? Are they showing up?
Can they get along with people? Well, in these CTSOs, it's just like a football
team. Everybody works together.
You know, you've got three people in a group. If you don't work together and
get along, then you're fired. You're gone.
(33:52):
So I feel real good about that. And I'll say this braggingly,
that's not really a word.
Henry Glass uses that on some of the that's not a word, but we have,
I don't know any other West Tennessee program that can compare to us,
to our CTE programs with what we have.
And again, I'll thank John Combs for giving me three and a half million dollars
(34:12):
of ESSER money in the last three years.
And again, if you'd like to tour or visit, all you got to do is contact me and
I'll set that up anytime that you want out of the 12 months.
And I sure appreciate you having me, Phil, Ms. Amanda. Yes, thank you.
Thank you, thank you, Mr. Harvey, for the partnership. And we open our invitation up as well.
(34:34):
Ashley Henderson is our dual enrollment coordinator and her staff.
We just really all work hard and we want the community to know about TCAT and
our partnerships and what we're doing to prepare the students for their future.
I think we can say that the opportunities are there.
Absolutely. If you want to be successful, it's not because we don't have the
(34:57):
opportunities, they are there.
And so it's great to have you guys with us today and excited about the future.
Thank you. We'll see you next time for another edition of Endless Possibilities.
Music.
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