VOL. 7 NO. 37
IN THIS ISSUE
Miracle Maker
Meet Mary Kerr, program facilitator for the Knox County Schools coupon books. Kerr is the biggest fan the books could ever hope to find. “They’re my passion,” she says of the coupon books, which students are selling through Sept. 23. “I know how much they help the schools here in Knox County. I believe in what I’m doing.”
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Read Betsy Pickle on A-9
Thank a teacher An old bumper sticker said: “If you can read this, thank a teacher.” That bar has been raised. Now teachers must feed students of all aptitudes and abilities through a chute for testing. If scores are high enough, the teachers get to do it again next year. If not, there is no thanks and maybe no job. Great Schools Partnership has set the second annual “Thank a Teacher Week,” Sept. 30 through Oct. 4. Amazingly, some teachers are saying “no thanks.”
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Read Sandra Clark on A-4
Hey Butch, the next one matters If you see Butch before I do, please tell him this next one matters. The Florida Gators are an official problem. They’ve whipped the Volunteers eight consecutive times. That is pretty close to becoming a habit. In theory, this would be a fine rivalry if Tennessee could win one now and then.
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Read Marvin West on A-5
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September 16, 2013
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Sounds of success Gales help tailgate party so more can hear By Betsy Pickle It’s a given that everyone at the Hearing and Speech Foundation’s Ultimate Tailgate Party is a Tennessee football fan. But at least one group of attendees roots for the foundation as enthusiastically as it does the Vols. The Gale family will have a busy Saturday morning this week before heading to the Ultimate Tailgate, which starts at 2:30 p.m. in the East Club Skybox at Neyland Stadium. Abraham, 15, has a swim meet and a swim-team cookout to attend before the tailgate party starts. But the Gales wouldn’t miss it, or their chance to support HSF’s CEO and cofounder, John Berry. In addition to watching the televised UT-Florida game, guests can enjoy a buffet and handcrafted beers from Woodruff Brewery and bid on items in a silent auction. Tickets, $100, are available at http://hsfweb.givezooks.com/ events/7th-hsf-ultimate-tailgateparty. It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Hearing and Speech Foundation, the Blount Countybased organization that specializes in helping the deaf and hearing-impaired hear, speak and function in the hearing world. Ashley and Gordon Gale learned of the foundation soon after the birth of their twins, Abraham and Ariel. Within 24 hours of their delivery at UT Medical Center, the
Abraham Gale (at right) talks to fans of football and the Hearing and Speech Foundation at the 2012 Ultimate Tailgate Party at Neyland Stadium. Abraham was born deaf and is a student of the foundation’s verbotonal method. Photos submitted twins’ hearing was tested. “She passed, and he failed,” says Ashley Gale. “They said, ‘Oh, no big deal. Just have him retested at eight weeks.’ So at eight weeks, we went to an ear, nose and throat doctor, and an audiologist did a test called an ABR, which stands for Auditory Brain Response, and Abraham had none. He is profoundly deaf, bilaterally, born that way. “He has what’s called a sensory neural hearing deficiency.” Upon receiving the news, Gale – a trained nurse – was “totally devastated.” “I went home and called the pediatrician, and just by happenstance – I’m pretty certain it was divine intervention – my pediatrician was good, personal friends with John Berry. He said, ‘Hold on, Ashley, hold on. Let me make a phone call; I’ll call you right back.’
The Mocs (Mockingbirds) are breaking out on their own and getting good response to the action! University of Tennessee at Chattanooga alums previously had to share alumni activities with all UT schools under an umbrella chapter. This year, however, they were encouraged to form their own groups. A group of UTC graduates put the word out and are now rolling with fellow MOCs instead of the Vols.
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Faces of Farragut on A-3
10512 Lexington Dr., Ste. 500 37932 (865) 218-WEST (9378) NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sherri Gardner Howell ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Shannon Carey Jim Brannon | Tony Cranmore Brandi Davis | Patty Fecco
To page A-3
Crissy visits Pond Gap School Haslam explores community school
Below, a gardening class taught by AmeriCorps member Matt Callo listens as Tennessee’s first lady Crissy Haslam describes the new kitchen and cutting garden at Tennessee’s executive residence. Haslam visited Pond Gap’s University-Assisted Community School Thursday.
By Wendy Smith
Claiming its own
Leslee Rook, director of therapy and training, and John Berry, cofounder of the Hearing and Speech Foundation, enjoy the 2012 Ultimate Tailgate Party that raises funds for the foundation.
Two of Crissy Haslam’s priorities are parent engagement in schools and improved literacy, so it is no surprise that Tennessee’s First Lady accepted an invitation to visit Pond Gap Elementary School’s University-Assisted Community School (UACS) Thursday. This is Pond Gap’s fourth year as a UACS, which is an outreach program of the University of Tennessee College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences. Haslam said she hasn’t observed anything like it in Tennessee. UACS coordinator Mark Benson escorted the First Lady on a tour of the program, which serves 105 of Pond Gap’s 330 students. She visited a physical education class in the school’s gym and a circus class in the cafeteria, where students skipped rope and jumped on a trampoline. She observed a reading intervention class and took time out to ask 1st grader Christal Evans what she liked about school. “Learning helps you be smart,” said Christal. Haslam agreed. “I’m still learning. You’ll be learning, too, when you’re my age.”
Crissy Haslam chats with Pond Gap Elementary School 1st-grader Christal Evans while teaching assistant Melissa Zempleni looks on. Photos by Wendy Smith
The tour continued to a portable classroom where Ronda Mostella was teaching rhythm with drumsticks. It looked like a music class, but the kids chanted facts about math and geography as they tapped out a beat. A staff member filmed the class, and Haslam promised to show it to the governor. “This is one of the only places
in Tennessee doing this, so you guys are really special,” she said. “Tell the governor I said, ‘Hey,’” chimed in 5th grader Samara Johnson. Haslam visited a new gardening class taught by AmeriCorps member Matt Callo. The students had planted kale, carrots and radishes in raised beds at the school
the week before. The First Lady told the class that students from a nearby elementary school in Nashville had helped her plant a kitchen and cutting garden at Tennessee’s executive residence the day before. To page A-3
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