NOTE: This release was sent from the University of Tennessee communications department.
East Tennessee high school students will have a chance to explore the world of business and possible business careers during a new summer enrichment program sponsored by the College of Business Administration at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Called "Business Education for Talented Students" (BETS), this weeklong, residential program will run June 21-28. The program targets students from communities that have been historically underrepresented in business. There is no cost to participate.
BETS is designed to introduce 25 rising seniors from diverse backgrounds to the various business majors offered at UT -- accounting, finance, marketing, economics, human resource management, public administration, enterprise management, logistics and statistics.
Students must have a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average. Complete eligibility requirements and application are available at http://bus.utk.edu/diversity . Applications are being accepted through May 16.
Program funding is provided by UT College of Business Administration alumnus Andy Taylor, a partner in the Memphis financial investment firm Gerber/Taylor Associates.
"One of Andy's goals is to ensure that the college's future students are prepared to enter the exciting world of business," said Sarah Gardial, associate dean of academic programs. "The BETS program will introduce students to the opportunities available in our college and give them the opportunity to become familiar with UT and life on campus."
Taylor said he wants high school students "to realize that they can achieve their dreams as long as they stay focused, work hard and get an education.
"My hurdles to success were many. I'd like to make it easier for our future leaders to achieve their goals."
Students will participate in professional development, real-world simulations, challenging team-building activities and business instruction led by the college's faculty. In addition to attending classes, students will interact with professionals from business and government during organizational visits, plant tours and guest lectures.
A recent study of the nation's 50 largest cities shows that there is typically a disparity in graduation rates between city school districts and the nearby suburban districts.
Two Tennessee cities, Nashville and Memphis, were included in this study. Nashville city schools were tied for the second highest graduation rate, 77 percent. Memphis ranked 14 with 61.7% of its students graduating.
These numbers compare with a 50-city average of 51.8 percent -- meaning almost half of students in these 50 school districts will not graduate high school.
The Tennessee cities also had a relatively small disproportion of disparity when compared with the national statistics. Memphis actually had the opposite disparity compared with the national average, meaning that the suburban graduation rate was less than the city graduation rate. That gap was 6.2 percent. Nashville suburban schools graduated 5.8 percent more students than its city schools.
The top disparities belong to Baltimore, Maryland and Columbus, Ohio. Both of these cities' schools had rates 40 percent below their suburban counterparts. The average for all 50 cities was a 17.4 percent disparity in favor of the suburban schools.
Note: This release was sent from the National Academy of Engineering, who is launching a new program to help with engineering workforce development efforts, especially for young women.
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), in conjunction with National Engineers Week, has launched a new Web site to encourage academically prepared girls to enroll in undergraduate engineering programs.
"This Web site is part of a national effort to inform high school girls, and those who counsel them, about engineering through personal and informative sketches about women's experiences as engineers," said NAE President Charles M. Vest.
At www.engineeryourlife.org, high school girls can "virtually" meet young women engineers and learn about their careers. Twelve women tell their inspiring stories on the Web site: about working with their communities; solving real problems; and, how they came to choose engineering as a profession. Eleven engineering fields are described at the site, with information on possible engineering projects, starting salaries, resources, and additional young engineers talking about their careers in their own words. A third section explains how to prepare for college engineering programs, with information on what high school classes to take, the experience of being an engineering student, and choosing an engineering program.
Engineer Your LifeTM is a production of WGBH Educational Foundation and NAE, in partnership with a coalition of more than 50 engineering and educational organizations, including ASME. For additional information, see nationalacademies.org.
The Tennessee Board of Education today voted to raise the standards for Tennessee high school students to graduate.
These standards include additional math and science courses, as well as changing policies in physical education, foreign languages and other requirements.
The Board also voted to discontinue the Gateway exams and instead implemented end-of-year tests in key subject areas.
The Public School Forum released three videos promoting academic excellence and raising standards for Tennessee's students. These will soon be television commercials.
Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt was one of the highlighted speakers.
This is the second in a three-commercial set. The final video will be posted soon. The previous video can be found here.
The Knoxville News Sentinel recently reported on the state's Board of Education proposal to add additional math, advanced science, personal finance and physical education requirements in order for students to earn a high school diploma. The board will vote later this month on the proposal.
The Chamber's president discussed the topic:
"There's a lot of Tennesseans who want the diploma and not the knowledge the diploma represents," Knoxville Chamber President and CEO Mike Edwards said. "If Tennesseans are going to have jobs and a standard of living, there has to be strong support from (them) on what the governor and the state board is doing.
"It will be too easy for people to think they don't need to master high school subjects, and that simply isn't the case. It's what's going to make or break an individual and a community."
Read more on the story here.
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