He also examined a flight simulator and an engine and talked to various teachers and officials at Oak Ridge Schools about vocational training programs, before speaking to a civics class.
He was joined on the visit by ORHS graduates — Tennessee Lt. Gov. Randy McNally of Oak Ridge and state House Speaker Cameron Sexton of Crossville. Also attending were state Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge, Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, and Lee's wife, state First Lady Maria Lee.
A student’s request
Lee’s visit came after ORHS sophomore Benjamin George requested the visit.
“I’d just been able to see all the great things our state leadership has been able to do,” George told The Oak Ridger regarding why he invited the governor. During the governor’s visit, the two got to meet and George got a chance to thank Lee.
Aviation and CTE
Lee spent much of the visit with ORHS automotive and aviation teacher Patrick Ladue who showed some of his class’ projects and equipment.
Ladue showed the governor and state officials an airplane that students are building.
“We’re looking to build it, fly it, maintain it,” Ladue told the governor. He said it will fly with a Corvette engine and take off from the Oliver Springs airport. Ladue said the small, fiberglass plane will be able to hold 1,000 pounds of cargo.
Oak Ridge’s aviation programs got a boost recently from a grant. With support from postsecondary partners, the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville and Roane State Community College, as well as the McGhee-Tyson Air National Guard Base, Oak Ridge Schools received the $200,000 in grant funding for this program from through the Perkins Reserve Grant process. In addition to the airplane, the grant paid for flight simulators as well as drones for Oak Ridge’s middle schools and high school. Lee got to see ORHS senior Jakob Nussbaum use this flight simulator, and also see and hear a standalone engine revving up in Ladue’s classroom.
Holly Cross, supervisor of career readiness and communications for the school system, said there are more students applying for Ladue’s aviation and automotive class than can fit in. She said in general that career and technical education (CTE) gets students excited about other classes, as well.
“You inspire kids to want to learn, to want to learn their math, their English,” she said.
At the end of the event, Lee spoke to reporters about the importance of career and technical education and a previous piece of education he said he had passed to promote it, the Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education (GIVE) Act.
“We did that because we wanted to create pathways for students who in particular are gifted in ways that other students aren’t,” he said.
Another grant?
Yet another state program came up during the governor’s visit, the Innovative High Schools Grant. Schwinn said in an interview that the program involves a total of $30 million invested in high schools with unique programs. Oak Ridge Schools applied for a grant of just over $1.2 million.
During his visit, Lee hinted the Oak Ridge Schools may get its request, although the state wasn't announce the recipients until sometime Monday, May 17, and hadn't as of press time.
“Without being really forthcoming, you might be really happy in the next few days,” Lee said during his Friday visit regarding the grant.
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