The Hamilton County School District partnered with the Public Education Foundation and Volkswagen to offer teachers a unique opportunity to dive deep into technology. Monday was the first day of the three-day Digital Fabrication Conference designed to introduce students to STEM. Michael Stone with the Public Education Foundation says the conference is a hands-on, minds-on conference for teachers all over the nation. -- Local 3 News, Cornelia Nicholson

Every summer, a group of rising high school seniors travels to the scenic University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, for a three-day intensive college prep boot camp. This year's camp kicked off Monday. The Chattanooga Times Free Press spoke with students and camp counselors Tuesday after the students had a chance to tour the campus and work on essays. Many of the students will be first-generation college students whose parents or family members haven't experienced the application process and are unable to guide them through steps like applying for financial aid, scholarships or writing a college essay. Camp College aims to fill that gap. During their time at Sewanee, students participate in workshops, team-building activities and seminars that prepare them for nearly every aspect of applying for college. -- Chattanooga Times Free Press, Carmen Nesitt

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn and about 100 education leaders, students and state officials gathered at Ooltewah High School on Monday to mark a new public school funding formula, the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement. “I think what’s also really important about TISA is it really is focusing on students who we haven’t served as well as we need to, particularly low-income students, students with disabilities, students who are English language learners, students of color,” Challener said. -- Chattanooga Times Free Press, Carmen Nesbitt

The Public Education Foundation announced Tuesday the selection of 31 teachers from the Southeast Tennessee region who will participate in the 10th cohort of PEF’s STEM Fellow program during the 2022-2023 academic year. The teachers will engage in a year of professional learning about best practices in STEM education and will have numerous opportunities to visit businesses in the region that thrive because of the STEM skills of their employees.

Recently, I watched a select group of Hamilton County high school students take the stage at the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee headquarters. One at a time, in front of beaming family members, friends and civil servants, they formally committed to pursue a 27-month bachelor’s degree over a traditional college experience. During that signing event, my heart was full — and it remains so. I witnessed the evolution of the BlueSky Tennessee Institute from an idea to an initiative unfolding in front of us. BlueSky Institute is designed to foster locally the advanced technology talent BlueCross needs to serve our customers, communities and business partners. The Tennessean

DegreeU, the new PEF-designed app intended to help students find their best-fit college, is featured on SCORE TN’s blog. “What makes [DegreeU] unique is it fundamentally focuses on graduation. Not whether you can get in, but whether you’ll get out with a degree,” Dr. Dan Challener explains.

This summer, four Hamilton County teachers will collectively explore five countries and at least 10 cities across the world to bring real-life experiences and diverse perspectives back to classrooms in the fall. The teachers, Marcie Williams and Justin Walley of Ooltewah High, Vanessa Moss of Central High and Brooke Hopkins of Soddy Daisy High, were selected as part of a competitive fellowship program through the national nonprofit Fund for Teachers. They'll each receive up to $5,000. The funds are administered locally through a partnership with the Public Education Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing student achievement in Hamilton County. -- Chattanooga Times Free Press, Carmen Nesbitt

Janice Neal is celebrating 30 years with the Public Education Foundation, making her the longest-serving employee at the nonprofit group. Over the years, she's affected the careers and lives of an immeasurable number of youths, according to those who know her, and they said Neal knows no bounds when it comes to helping launch students' careers. -- Chattanooga Times Free Press, Carmen Nesbitt

Dan Challener and Ooltewah High School teacher Marcie Williams were guests on “The Morning Show” with Greg Funderburg on May 2, 2022. Dr. Challener and Williams praised the benefits of a partnership with Fund for Teachers and described the numerous ways that FFT grants open up opportunities for both students and teachers. There were four grant recipients in 2022 and they will collectively travel to five countries and 10 cities.

The late American journalist Christopher Morley notably said, “There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.” Dr. Edna Varner was only 15 when Morley died in 1957, but if they had crossed paths and Morley had surmised how she’d someday live her life, she might have inspired that quote. Known locally as a skilled educator and a tireless volunteer, Varner, 72, has been able to live her life her way. As her peers married and raised families, she remained single and instead fostered thousands of children, first as a teacher, then as a principal and finally as an educator of teachers. -- Hamilton County Herald, David Laprad