Cleveland Daily Banner
By Christy Armstrong
BCHS inducts 33 students into school’s new National Technical Honor Society
For the first time in its 100-year history, Bradley Central High School has an honor society for students in its career and technical education programs.
Thirty-three students were recently inducted into a new chapter of the National Technical Honor Society at the school.
“These students are leaders in career and technical education,” said Arlette Robinson, CTE director for Bradley County Schools. “They are the best of the best.”
To join the honor society, a student must have a GPA of at least 3.0, a school attendance rate of at least 95 percent, be involved in at least one community service club, have no discipline issues and receive recommendations from at least three teachers.
A student must also have completed at least two courses in a CTE subject area. Bradley Central offers courses in 18 different areas: agriculture, automotive, AV productions, business, cabinetry, carpentry, collision repair, CAD/engineering, cosmetology, criminal justice, culinary arts, family and consumer science, family and community/social health services, health science, information technology, marketing, precision machining and welding.
“We want to promote excellence in CTE, because we know employers in our area want excellence,” Patti Hunt, grant coordinator for Bradley County Schools.
She also explained the students were awarded membership in the NTHS at no cost to them. While membership dues are normally required, the school system used money from 2014’s $4.5 million federal Youth CareerConnect grant to sponsor the new group.
As members of the honor society, students will be eligible for college scholarships and other opportunities related to their study of CTE subjects.
During the first induction ceremony, school system staff welcomed the first Bradley Central seniors into the NTHS. The seniors then led the induction for the juniors. In future years, the senior students will lead the induction ceremonies.
The 33 founding members of Bradley Central’s chapter are:
n Seniors — Victoria Arthur, Ashlynn Colbough, Hayley Compton, Savana Davis, Emma Fannin, Mikahla Gay, Abigail Guthrie, Jessica Higgins, Laney Houston, Hannah Long, Samanta Martinez, Stephen May, Kailyn Payne, Haylee Pell, Makenzie Randolph, Morgan Rogers, Bailey Schmank and Breanna Whitener;
n Juniors — Allison Branam, Samantha Dotson, Jairo Fields, Cassidy Flowers, Shawn Hughes, Quianna Johnson, Madeline Jones, Robin Marr, Lexus Meeks, Reily Moore, Rayven Norman, Morgan Ruth, Julia Sandryka, Illya Yakovenko and Jonathan York.
The new chapter also recognized local businesses that have shown a great deal of support for Bradley Central’s CTE programs. The NTHS allows chapters to give businesses honorary memberships to the organization to thank them for their support.
Robinson said many individuals and companies in the community have been supportive of the programs, but seven companies have been “especially wonderful” to students and teachers.
The following businesses were given honorary memberships:
– Check Into Cash, for working with information technology students and hosting field trips;
– Cormetech, for hosting tours for teachers and starting a high school internship program;
– Life Care Centers of America, for hosting teacher externships and student internships;
– McKee Foods, for hosting teacher tours and teaching them about manufacturing;
– Signature Health Care, for hosting students in certified nursing assistant training and job shadowing;
– Tennova Healthcare, for allowing students to experience a clinical setting and work with mentors from the company;
– Wacker Chemie, for its contributions as a Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce BEST Partner with Bradley Central.
As the school year progresses, the new chapter will be planning activities to continue to promote excellence in CTE subject areas. Robinson said she also hopes it will continue to foster good relationships between students and local employers.
Bradley Central Principal Todd Shoemaker praised the students for their work. He also emphasized that today’s students are tomorrow’s local professionals.
“We can be proud of these students,” Shoemaker said. “They work very hard and are very good examples for Bradley Central High School. I’m proud of each one of them and can’t wait to see what they do in the next few years.”
The NTHS is not new to this area, as Walker Valley High School and Cleveland High School each have chapters. Hunt said efforts are also underway to “revamp” the chapter at Walker Valley and make it available to more students.
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