Thanks to the incredible efforts of our own Mattie Moran and the Workforce Development Committee, we’ve rolled out school-to-work programs that reach every 8th through 12th grader in Hamilton County. An important aspect of this effort is that we engage over 1,000 volunteers including many business people to reach 15,000 public school students every year.

I believe that engaging business people in this way is a first step toward close collaboration between the business community and educators.

In launching an Education Initiative earlier this year, the Chamber has further enhanced its commitment to working with educators to produce a well-prepared workforce.

I believe that the Education Initiative represents the most challenging task the Chamber has ever undertaken. As businesspeople, we do not pretend to be educators. We don’t have all the answers. In struggling to define our role, we’ve sought feedback from teachers, businesspeople, foundation heads, government officials, and the general public.

Thanks to their input we will focus our efforts on two objectives: 1)Initiating and sustaining an ongoing dialogue between businesspeople and educators about workforce needs and the resources required to meet those needs and 2)Achieving broad-based community support for and investment in public education at all levels.

The recent hiring of a new superintendent gives all of us an opportunity to start anew and unite in support of high performing public schools.This will not happen overnight. As a community, we will have to find a way to transcend controversies and rise above short-term self-interest in pursuing our own greater good.

Ultimately, our approach to education is a test not only of our community culture but our community character: · Are we magnanimous enough to embrace our perceived opponents, to bury the hatchet and move past old conflicts so that we can work productively together?
· Are we broad-minded enough to understand opposing perspectives and look for ways to compromise instead of criticize?
· Do we have the courage to invest ourselves despite the risks and the faith to believe in a first-class outcome?

We promote Chattanooga to the world as the Can-Do Community. That phrase refers to the public-private partnerships that have allowed us to clean our air and transform our riverfront. Those successes were achieved through the vision, effort, and resources of a relatively small percentage of our population.

Improving our schools will require a much deeper commitment by a much broader group of people over a much longer period of time.

What’s our vision for education? With the help of Governor Bredesen and the state legislature, Hamilton County will go from the bottom of the list in state funds received per pupil to receiving an equitable share of the state taxes we pay to support our schools.

Businesspeople and educators will begin an on-going dialogue at all levels and work together to graduate students who can enter the workforce or go on to higher education without needing remediation.

As a growing number of businesspeople and citizens begin to take a more active role in education, we will begin to embrace our schools as a treasured asset that not only prepares the next generation to lead successful and productive lives but also positions our whole community to achieve its potential.

Moving forward, the Chamber will strive to dovetail its efforts with the Benwood Schools Initiative, the Lyndhurst Foundation’s new middle school initiative, Read 20’s effort to ensure that all students are reading on level by grade three, and all of the other organizations and efforts that address issues in the education arena.

The Chamber’s primary role in this effort is to engage the business community in supporting high-performing schools, so I would be remiss if I didn’t invite each of you to join us in leveraging your expertise,resources, and contacts to dramatically enhance educational attainment in Hamilton County.

Can we change our community culture toward education? We’ve already begun to do just that. Chattanooga Can-Do describes public visions actualized through public-private partnerships. Unlike the vision for our riverfront, our vision for education will have to be built and rebuilt over and over again. The 21st Century Waterfront was completed in three years, but education must always be a work in progress.

I believe we’re up to that challenge. Chattanooga has already proven that when we dream it and mean it, we can make it happen.  Together we can establish Hamilton County’s schools as world-class examples of 21st Century education. Our success in that effort, will ultimately become the most important expression of Chattanooga’s  Can-Do spirit.

I began this presentation by thanking you for the honor of being named Chattanooga Area Manager of the Year, and I bring my remarks to a close by expressing my appreciation for the privilege of working with you and the companies you represent in helping Chattanooga achieve its potential as the city we build together out of our highest civic aspirations.