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Bill Haslam on Education |
This time last year, I announced the Drive to 55--our effort to reach at least 55 percent by 2025. This isn't just about higher education--it's about better jobs for more Tennesseans. It's about building a stronger economy. I have spent a lot of time over the past two years on workforce readiness. I am more convinced than ever that our urgent needs are in the areas of access, quality and relevance. To tackle these, our Drive to 55 initiative focuses on five key goals:
Only 32% of Tennesseans have earned an associates' degree or higher. That's not good enough. Our goal is to move the needle so that Tennessee is on track to raise that number to 55% by 2025. Tonight we begin our "drive to 55"--a strategic initiative to have the best trained workforce in America. To do that, we must improve affordability and access in higher education. To help us achieve this goal, we're partnering with Western Governors University to establish "WGU Tennessee." It is an online, competency-based university that is geared to the 800,000 adult Tennesseans that have some college credit but didn't graduate with an associate or four-year degree.
The City University School of Liberal Arts is a charter school with a college preparatory foundation. Students have full access to diverse advanced placement courses and dual enrollment at Christian Brothers University. In Nashville the LEAD Academy is the city's first charter high school with a vision to do Whatever It Takes to ensure students graduate from high school and attend college. The Metropolitan Nashville school system is 1 of 9 in the country recognized by the Gates Foundation for a collaborative approach to blend charter schools in with other district schools.