TOP PHOTO: Tennessee College of Applied Technology Dual Enrollment Coordinator Camilla Gambrel briefly addressed Rotarians on Tuesday about the growth of TCAT’s dual enrollment program.

By Charlotte Underwood 

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – Campbell County Rotary Club members learned about dual enrollment at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Jacksboro and Roane State Community College and the role that the Ayers Foundation plays in providing opportunities for students in Campbell County and other rural communities. 

The Ayers Foundation provides the Ayers Scholars Program in Campbell County High School and Jellico High School. This is the first school year the program has been in the county. The Scholarship program is a “nationally recognized, highly effective college access and counseling program now working in 33 high schools across 21 rural Tennessee counties.”

The program provides schools with full-time, trained college and career advisors. Campbell County has three counselors on staff from the Ayers Foundation at no cost to the county. These counselors “can give students the guidance and support they need, from 8th grade through college or another postsecondary path.”

The Ayers Foundation Trust is also a designated partnering organization to Tennessee Promise that guides students across the state through the transition from high school to college.

Tennessee College of Applied Technology Jacksboro President Debbie Petree spoke about TCAT’s dual enrollment program before introducing Tuesday’s guest speakers at Rotary Club.

Jacksboro TCAT President Debbie Petree introduced Tuesday’s speakers and spoke briefly about the dual enrollment program at TCAT and how it had grown over the past decade.

“When we started our program, we had 10 students in the program and this spring we had 243 students,” Petree said.

Camilla Gambrel is the Dual enrollment program coordinator for TCAT Jacksboro, and Petree credited her with growing the program.

“It takes a village to get these students through school and to give them that extra support that they need to make it through high school and post high school and secondary education,” Petree said.

Denna Grogan Ayers Foundation Counselor reported that 286 CCHS students had received over $3 million in scholarships this year.

Counselors Vanessa Overton and Denna Grogan with the Ayers Foundation addressed Rotarians about the program.

This was the first year the Ayers Foundation program was at CCHS.

“We started in August of this school year, so we just wrapped up with our first group of seniors. We started with two counselors and through the generosity of the Ayers Foundation we were able to add a third counselor and we are in the process of hiring a student success coordinator and we will have a staff of four. We had almost 300 seniors this year, so it takes a lot of people because we start working with students in the eighth grade and we start planting those seeds about what they can do,” Overton said.

Counselors talk to students about dual enrollment, middle college and other opportunities such as military or career and workforce paths.

We work with students whether they intend to go to a university, TCAT, community college, stay in the workforce or go into the military.

“Our motto is ‘To and Through’; we not only see them to college or whatever their plans after high school are, we stay with them and see them through the finish. As Ayers counselors, we see the impact of the Ayers Foundation and how it is improving the lives of our rural students, “Overton said. 

She spoke briefly about Jim Ayers and his wife and how the program came to be in Campbell County and other surrounding rural counties.

Jim Ayers grew up in rural West Tennessee in the town of Parsons. He was one of the first in his family to attend college and he later became “one of the state’s most successful and admired businessmen, as well as a leading philanthropist. In 1999, he established The Ayers Foundation, which supports a wide range of programs and institutions, with an emphasis on education in Henderson and Perry Counties, as well as his home county of Decatur. The Ayers Foundation is currently in 33 counties in Tennessee and “hopes to expand to all rural counties.”

Ayers Foundation Counselor Denna Grogan spoke briefly describing some of what she and other counselors do for area students.

“This year we took over 100 students to six campuses across the state. We had over 300 College applications completed from CCHS, and we have completed and had over 1,000 one on one meetings with students. Our completion rate for filling out financial aid applications is 95-percent from CCHS, which is phenomenal as the statewide average is only 65-percent,” Grogan said.

She also reported that 286 CCHS students received over $3 million in scholarships this year by pursuing opportunities.

“We are hands and feet and boots on the ground, and we are helping them facilitate their dreams,” Grogan said. 

Roane State Community College Campbell County Campus Director Sharon Wilson spoke about the positives of the Ayers Foundation at Tuesdays Rotary Club meeting held at the La Follette Methodist Church.

Roane State Community College Campbell County Director Sharon Wilson also spoke on Tuesday to fellow Rotarians.

“The impact of this organization is going to be huge on our community. You get four wonderful folks working with these kids, helping our students at no cost to our county. We love it at Roane State; because of the Ayers Foundation, we know our kids are ready. They sit down with these kids, and they counsel these kids on what opportunities are available to them, I can’t say enough good things about the Ayers Foundation and we’re going to see a dramatic impact on our community,” Wilson said.

Jacksboro TCAT Dual enrollment coordinator Camilla Gambrel also spoke briefly about the positives of the Ayers Foundation, along with the Dual enrollment program at TCAT.

“I love my job; I see students succeed every day. We have 8th grade camp this week. We like to plant that seed early,” Gambrel said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 06/05/2024-6AM)

Related