Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career And Technical Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
TCAT recognizes Kingsport for dual‑enrollment partnership; district to gain instructors and adviser
Summary
The Tennessee College of Applied Technology recognized Kingsport City Schools for enrolling 500 students in CTE dual-enrollment and said it will add full‑time instructors and a Sullivan County adviser to expand programs and address waitlists.
Dr. Richard Church, vice president of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Elizabethton, told the Kingsport City Schools Board of Education on March 10 that 500 Kingsport students are currently dual‑enrolled with TCAT this spring term and that TCAT has reinvested about $40,000 back into the district for dual‑enrollment services.
"Kingsport City Schools has 500 students currently dual enrolled with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology at Elizabethton," Dr. Church said, noting that the district earned a gold recognition for overall participation and a bronze recognition for percent participation at Dobyns Bennett High School. He said TCAT will add a full‑time dual‑enrollment automotive instructor at Dobyns Bennett and a full‑time nursing (LPN) instructor to support the Ballad Academy program.
Dr. Church also said TCAT plans to place a full‑time dual‑enrollment adviser in Sullivan County who will be on‑site at Dobyns Bennett at least two days a week beginning next fall to assist with paperwork, follow‑up and career advising. He described the adviser as a pilot that will be shared among several partner high schools.
School leaders and board members thanked TCAT for equipment support, instructor mentoring and other contributions that the district said have helped sustain career and technical education programs. The board's chair expressed appreciation for the "partnership that we share with TCAT, Elizabethton, and the opportunities that we work together to provide our students and their families and ultimately our community."
The TCAT presentation emphasized both enrollment numbers and program capacity: administrators said some classes, such as automotive, have waitlists and that the added instructors aim to reduce the backlog so more students can complete certifications. The district did not provide exact timelines for the new positions beyond saying the automotive instructor would begin in the fall and the adviser would attend Dobyns Bennett two days per week in the fall term.
Next steps: the board received the recognition and TCAT's commitments during the meeting; no formal district action beyond public acknowledgment was recorded in the minutes.
