Leadership Hamilton County Schools Begins With 18 Community Leaders In The Class

The first class of Leadership Hamilton County Schools kicked off this week with a new opportunity for the community to get involved in the public schools. The first session of Leadership Hamilton County Schools met on Tuesday, at the central office of Hamilton County Schools. Leadership Hamilton County Schools is a six-session program running through April that will allow participants to experience the people and programs in our area schools preparing our children for success after graduation.

 

“The first meeting was very helpful,” said David Denmark, executive director of the Maclellan Foundation.

“I left with a much greater appreciation for the complexity of the challenges facing our schools. Consequently, my already-existing respect for Dr. Johnson and his team has increased to a new level.”

 

The first session covered an introduction to education governance, an overview of the Future Ready 2023 five-year district action plan, and a more comprehensive look into the first action area of the plan, Accelerating Student Achievement. The first class of Leadership Hamilton County Schools includes 18 people representing businesses, non-profits, government, and faith-based organizations in the community.

 

The next Leadership Hamilton County Schools session will cover the new Future Ready Institutes and how the district plans to produce Future Ready Students.  The session will visit the Future Ready Institute at Red Bank High School on Nov. 13.  The session’s topic will be “Future Ready Students: Education in the 21st Century.”

 

The participants will also get to be a principal for a day, learn how the district seeks to recruit great teachers and leaders for our schools, get information on budget preparation, how the district seeks to engage the community, and efforts to run efficient and effective operations to maximize funding.   

 

The Leadership Hamilton County Schools first class includes:

·         Joshua Sneideman, vice president at Learning Blade

·         Miles Huff, community relations specialist, Unum

·         Tag Thompson, entrepreneur in investment and strategic consulting

·         Chad Jaynes, solutions development manager, Chattanooga State College, Economic, and Workforce Development Division

·         Sabrena Smedley, broker/owner of Sabrena Realty Associates, LLC in East Brainerd and Hamilton County Commissioner, District 7

·         Bishop Kevin L. Adams, Sr., senior pastor of Olivet Baptist Church

·         Molly Blankenship, vice president of talent initiatives at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce

·         Kristen Pavlik McCallie, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Center: The Emmy Haney House

·         Troy Brand, senior pastor of the Orchard Park Seventh-day Adventist Church and an adjunct theology instructor at Southern Adventist University

·         Amber Hoyle, director of Site-Based Programs at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga

·         David Denmark, executive director of the Maclellan Foundation

·         Geoff Ramsey, 2018 president, Greater Chattanooga REALTORS®’ Board of Directors

·         Jeanette Omarkhail, president of the Hamilton County Education Association

·         Rachel DeVore, director of education at the Bethlehem Center

·         Strat Parrott, president and chief creative/technology strategist for Juncture

·         Demetrus Coonrod, District 9 Councilwoman of the City of Chattanooga

·         Christine Bespalec-Davis, manager of school and teacher programs at the Hunter Museum of American Art 

·         Gina Stafford, assistant vice chancellor for marketing and communications at UTC