By Bill Grubb

GREENEVILLE — The latest in technology will soon allow high school students in four school systems in East Tennessee, including Hawkins County, to have access to a greatly expanded curriculum.
    Wednesday afternoon a ceremony was held celebrating a $499,100 Distance Learning Grant awarded to the Greene and Hawkins County school system by USDA Rural Development.  The Niswonger foundation also awarded $150,000 to augment the federal funds.
    Approximately $167,000 will be awarded to Hawkins County for hardware, software and and teacher training, according to Hawkins County Director of Schools Charlotte Britton.
    “It is indeed a great time to be in education.  The opportunity is now available for our students to have state of the art technology for teaching and learning,” Britton said.
    “The expansion of our course offerings and avenue for expanding our curriculum for college bound students and work force training is very exciting.  I wish to thank Rosie Bailey, Director of Technology in Hawkins County, for participating in the grant writing and having a strong vision for the technology in Hawkins County Schools.  Our system has a vision for being the recognized leader in education and we are on the right path,” she added.
    The USDA Grant will allow the Greene and Hawkins County School Systems to use grant funds and also partner funds from the Niswonger Foundation and TRW for distance learning applications between the two districts and content providers.     
    The grant includes partnerships with organizations such as Walters State Community College, Tusculum College, East Tennessee State University, Vanderbilt Virtual School, Laughlin Memorial Hospital, Takoma Regional Hospital, Hawkins Memorial Hospital, Andrew Johnson Historical Site and Greeneville High School. 
    This partnership will allow for the purchase of distance learning equipment that will go in Cherokee High School, Clinch School, Chuckey Doak High School, North Greene High School, South Greene High School and West Greene High School.
    In October, the Hawkins County Board of Education voted to include additional money for Volunteer High School to purchase the needed learning equipment to be a part of the program.
    Volunteer was excluded from the initial grant because the Church Hill school is considered an Urban school, part of the Kingsport Urban area.
    In addition to the Greene and Hawkins County partnership, $299,834  in USDA funds and an additional $150,000 from the Niswonger Foundation were awarded Unicoi and Johnson County school systems.
    Mary Ruth Tackett, state director USDA Rural Development, praised Rural Development telecommunication program field representative Terry Kokinda for working with schools, healthcare providers and the private sector to make Tennessee one of the top recipients of Distance Learning Grants.
    “Thanks to the hard work of Terry Kokinda and business and education leaders like Scott Niswonger and his foundation, more than $1 million is being invested in the future of northeast Tennessee students and their communities,” Tackett said.
    Kokinda said he would be working with the school systems.
    “We want this program to succeed so we can take your success stories back to Washington and get even more money,” he said.
    According to Britton, the Grant and partnerships will provide the necessary support for the school district to:
•  Expand course offerings to meet the needs of our students’
• Ensure that Clinch School is able to offer the number and range of courses mandated by the state;
• Offer dual enrollment courses so that students are able academically and financially to matriculate to higher education;
• Provide equal opportunity for our homebound students to succeed academically, ensuring that these students are at or above expectation when they return to the traditional classroom; and
• Provide skills training and vocational education to our students to boost their career ambitions and marketability after graduation.
    Also attending the ceremony held at the Greene County School System administrative office were Niswonger Foundation Executive Director Oliver “Buzz” Thomas, Sen. Lamar Alexander's Representative Lana Moore, Sen. Bob Corker’s Representative Bridget Baird, Congressman-elect Phil Roe’s Representative Bill Snodgrass, State Representative David Hawk and Rural Development Area Director Charles Brooks.
    The USDA Rural Development distance learning and telemedicine (DLT) grant program increases the range of educational opportunities available to students and teachers, improves access to quality healthcare and opens up new economic opportunities for families, individuals and businesses in rural America.