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Williamson County unveils Entrepreneurship and Innovation Campus; Fairview students to have access
Summary
Williamson County Schools officials presented a new Entrepreneurship & Innovation Campus opening for students in August 2026, offering aviation, cybersecurity & AI, hospitality, fire management and advanced power programs with industry and college partners; Fairview-area students will be eligible to apply.
Jeremy Walls, executive director for College, Career and Technical Education for Williamson County Schools, told the Fairview Board of Commissioners on Sept. 18 that the district’s new Entrepreneurship and Innovation Campus will open for students in August 2026. "Our entrepreneurship and innovation campus will be going live in August 2026," Walls said during a presentation to the board.
Walls said the campus will launch five programs selected from district surveys: aviation; cybersecurity and artificial intelligence; hospitality and tourism; fire management; and advanced power and machinery. Each program, he said, will include industry partnerships, internships and opportunities for dual enrollment. Walls noted the district used an Innovative School Models grant application and related funding to support the project and said the district is building the facility rather than using the allocation for other purposes.
Industry and higher-education partners named in the presentation include Columbia State (for hospitality and tourism instruction), Middle Tennessee State University (credit pathways for aviation), TCAT/Thompson Caterpillar (technical trades instruction and a 5,000-square-foot training area), Hawkins Flight Academy (aviation partner) and local businesses assisting the hospitality curriculum. Walls also said the program will include a transition and special-education partnership with Honest Coffee that creates mentoring and coffee-cart opportunities for students.
The board was shown renderings and a short video of the building; Walls said construction is progressing quickly, with exterior work nearly complete and interior drywall installed. He said staff aim to be in the building by Feb. 1, 2026, with student enrollment beginning the following August. Walls said there will be open houses and a newsletter to keep parents and communities updated, and he named Sean Carter as a career coach who will assist families with questions about credits and dual-enrollment options.
Why it matters: The campus is intended to provide multiple postsecondary pathways — technical certificates, two-year associate routes and four-year transfer options — and to expand workforce-ready training for students who pursue careers that do not follow a traditional four-year college path. Fairview and other Williamson County high schools will be able to send students to the campus and apply to specific programs.
Next steps: School officials plan outreach in the Fairview area, open houses, and periodic construction updates; student application and enrollment processes and dates will be published by the district in the months before the August 2026 opening.
