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After almost two years of planning, the Blount Education Initiative will make its grand entrance into the community. The kickoff event will be held 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 10 at the Airport Hilton, 2001 Alcoa Highway, Alcoa.

“This is an event for people who are passionate about education and (moving it) to the next level. We want everybody to be involved,” said Mark Cate, chairman of the initiative’s executive committee.

Blount Education Initiative has sent out invitations for the event, but the kickoff is open to everyone, said Bonny C. Millard, the initiative’s executive director. There is no charge for attendees, but reservations are needed. There is room for 350 people and seats will be filled on a first-come first-serve basis, Millard said. A head count is needed by April 2, so those interested should contact Millard as soon as possible at 273-1210.

Tennessee’s Acting Commissioner of Education Dr. Tim Webb will be the kickoff’s keynote speaker.

Grass-roots initiative

A lot of education policy changes are being made at the state level and grass-roots level movements are equally as important, Cate said.

“The bottom-line goal is to make education a top priority in the community”

The initiative has three purposes: increase public and community awareness, support local schools and “act as a conduit between education and business to (create) a meaningful dialogue and conversation leading to collaborative efforts.”

The important thing is to bring business leaders and educators to the same table, so business leaders can get a better idea of what’s going on, according to Cate
“There is a lot of facts and information out there which the community doesn’t understand,” he said.

The initiative surveyed Blount County citizens to determine what value the community places on education, and Dr. Matt Murray, chairman of the Economic Development Board of Blount County, will present the results at the kickoff.

Murray will deliver the data in the “context of the attitudes and changing environment of education,” Cate said.

“We’re not here to criticize. We feel (educators) are doing a fantastic job with what they have been given to work with. However, we have to have greater expectations (to) back up what teachers are trying to do in the classroom,” he said.

The initiative is still in its development stage and “in the process of strategic planning and will be implementing strategies within a couple months of the kickoff,” Cate said.
The Blount Education Initiative is creating a Web site, which will be operational shortly, Millard said.

It will be “a clearinghouse for education (resources) in the community and will be about all things educational in the community,” Cate said.