Education
Franklin Tomorrow Goals and Strategies for Education as identified in 2011 Vision Fair process:
Education
GOAL: Inspire and support lifelong learning through quality educational opportunties.
Strategies:
1. Facilitate support for the further development of the Williamson County Center for Higher Education on the Columbia State Community College’s Franklin Campus
2. Continue to embrace the educational achievements, high expectations and visionary work of our collective educational institutions
3. Survey the business community to determine level of preparedness of students for the workforce
4. Encourage and promote the development of good citizenship, community service and positive character traits
5. Support the effective use of school facilities
Columbia State Community College
claims its land for future campus
Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, was a day of celebration for officials with Columbia State Community College and many community leaders as they held a "pounding ceremony" to symbolize the realization of CSCC's longtime dream of a site for a new and modern college campus.
CSCC President Dr. Janet Smith went back to her rural roots with the pounding ceremony, saying she had done a little fencing in her life and the post pounded into the ground Friday represented the corner post of the college's future at the 36-acre site on Liberty Pike just east of Carothers Parkway.
Dr. Janet Smith (center) surrounded by state, local and education officials as she prepares to swing a sledge hammer and pound a symbolic post into the ground at the new CSCC campus site on Liberty Pike.
"We weren't dreaming of just a building. We were dreaming of a campus," Smith told the hundreds of people who gathered at the Franklin Marriott and Cool Springs Conference Center before the on-site visit. She and others repeatedly thanked 61st District state Rep. Charles Sargent for working tirelessly to secure the funding to purchase the campus site.
Kiser-Vogrin Design helped Smith and her staff dream about what a future campus could look like and that is reflected below. No funding has been dedicated for the actual design or construction of the campus, which could start with three classroom buildings as well as an administrative office building. The price tag is estimated at $36 million, with a 10 percent match of locally raised money required to qualify for the construction funding.
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The Tennessean. Jan. 25, 2012
Franklin aims for poor kids to mingle
By Julie Hubbard
Staff Writer
Some parents in Franklin’s poorest neighborhoods are preparing to send their children to different schools next year after district leaders voted to spread them out more evenly.
Changing housing patterns in the city mean the majority of students who receive free or reduced-price lunches — 40 percent of its 3,700 student enrollment — attend two of five elementary schools. Read more of this story by following this link.
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United Way's Patricia Hart Society launches School Supplies drive
The Patricia Hart Society needs help collecting school supplies for children in our community. The supplies will be given to United Way Partner Agencies, Franklin Special School District and Williamson County Schools. The drive lasts through Friday, July 29th. Two weeks to give a child a great start to the school year.
You can support this drive in one of two ways; purchase items directly and bring to the UWWC offices or support Publix, a loyal UW contributor by purchasing pre-packaged supply packs at Williamson County Publix stores.
Donations of crayons, markers, paper, pencils, art supplies, backpacks, calculators, notebooks are a few examples of the supply needs. We will be serving all age levels of school children.
Please bring all supplies to the United Way Office located at 209 Gothic Court, Suite 107 by Friday, July 29 or contact your United Way Campaign Manager to pick up the supplies. Please contact Jodi Rall, Patricia Hart Society Member, at 615-504-1342 or by e-mail at jodirall@comcast.net. You may also call UWWC at 615-771-2312 and ask for Debby Rainey.