| Name | Brad |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Scott |
| Home Address | PO Box 3809 Chattanooga, TN 37404 United States |
| Organization Name | Chattanooga Preparatory School |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | Chief Executive Officer |
| Organization Address | 1849 Union Ave. Chattanooga, TENNESSEE 37404 United States |
| Website | https://www.chattanoogaprep.com |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 423-602-7737 |
| Alternate Phone Number | 423-760-2735 |
| Email Address | bradscott@chattanoogaprep.com |
| Alternate Email Address | jenniferhoff@chattanoogaprep.com |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | Chattanooga Prep is designed to serve one of our community’s most vulnerable populations: young men of color residing in communities devastated by poverty, crime, and hopelessness. Located in the heart of Highland Park, Chattanooga Prep embarked on its fourth school year in August 2021, welcoming 300 young men in grades 6-9. Over 80% of students are low-income, and our demographics are predominantly minority (60% African American and 33% Hispanic). As Chattanooga Prep adds a new grade each year, the school will grow to serve over 500 at-risk young men in grades 6-12. From our very beginning, we have been focused on creating a unique educational model that serves the needs of the whole child—including comprehensive academic support, mentoring, and wrap-around services to address needs and barriers faced by students and families. Unfortunately, our students come from urban neighborhoods with an intergenerational cycle of poverty that is very difficult to overcome. The median household income for the neighborhoods served by Chattanooga Prep is $29,632, which is 40% below the county median, and 42% of children in Chattanooga live in poverty. Due to our target population, many students come to Chattanooga Prep with social emotional learning (SEL) needs, which we work to address through our holistic academic model and wrap-around supports. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these issues, and we have seen higher rates of counselor referrals and overall mental health issues resulting from isolation at home and the financial stresses faced by our families. In addition, as our Hispanic population has grown over the last few years, we have also seen greater needs for ESL, translation services, and family engagement support to ensure all of our families feel included within the school community and can fully benefit from the services and support available to students and families. As we have grappled with the growing needs of our students and families during the pandemic, we have thought strategically about ways to enhance our programs and services to address economic recovery needs within our school community and the community at large. In 2021, we expanded our footprint in the Highland Park community by purchasing a gymnasium across the street from our school building. It is our vision to transform the gym into a “hub” for our school and the broader community. We are requesting City ARP funds to cover the renovation costs for this transformation, which will include the following key components to address needs brought on by the pandemic, ensure equitable access to a high-quality education, and spark generational change in our community. Student and Family Impact: The gym will become a hub for programs and initiatives supporting students and families, helping to address challenges brought on by the pandemic and ensuring our students are poised for academic success. The gym will impact over 500 students and their families, as well as Chattanooga Prep faculty and staff. 1. Academic Programs: The gym will have classroom space to support Chattanooga Prep’s continued high school expansion, which will increase enrollment to 500 students over the next 3 years. The young men served by Chattanooga Prep have faced multiple barriers throughout their academic careers, and most will be the first in their family to attend college. Currently, 82% of our founding class of 2025 will be first-generation college students when they step foot on a college campus. Chattanooga Prep is committed to a vision of College for ALL young men. Through our unique curriculum and our college support model—which includes mentoring and counseling support—we are closing the opportunity gap and increasing achievement levels after learning loss experienced as a result of the pandemic. 2. Theater and Cultural Arts: The gym has a theater stage in place, which has hosted a variety of historical events. Our vision is to expand our theater program and put on large productions that involve students in all aspects of theater: performing, technical support, and stage management. This program will not only help students build critical soft skills for college and future careers—it will also give them hands-on work experience and career exploration opportunities in technology careers. We also envision adding other cultural arts programming opportunities, including choir performances, musical performances (guitar and piano are currently taught at the school), a debate club, and chess club competitions—the opportunities are endless for expanding the horizons and college preparation of our students. The stage is in dire need of repair and upgrades before we can fully realize this vision. 3. Physical Education, Athletics, and Fitness Center: The gym provides space for our PE and Wellness classes, as well as our athletics programs. We plan to create a fitness center for students, faculty, and staff, which will help to promote healthy behaviors and improve mental health. 4. Health and Wellness: The gym space can be utilized for health and wellness events to support students and families, including health fairs, health screening clinics hosted by partners, and COVID vaccine events. Chattanooga Prep works to ensure students have access to medical care to address healthcare needs. We have a health aid who attends to basic healthcare needs (i.e. medications, bandaids, etc.). We host sports physicals on site, as well as speech and vision support services. We have built a strong partnership with Lifespring Community Health and Clinica de Medicos to serve as healthcare referral partners. When students have healthcare needs beyond what we can support in school, we are able to refer students to these clinics for health services. In addition, we have partnered with Dr. Michele Pickett with Lifespring to provide COVID testing and vaccine clinics on site at Chattanooga Prep for staff, teachers, students, family members, and others in the community. We ensure that we have bilingual staff at our COVID testing and vaccine clinics to educate all of our families. We have purchased at-home COVID testing kits for staff to use at home, and we also have kits on hand at school to test students who are exhibiting symptoms. We are proud to have nearly 100% of our staff and teachers who are fully vaccinated. We estimate approximately 60% of our students are vaccinated based on clinics and anecdotal information. 5. Mental Health Services: The gym will provide opportunities to expand our mental health supports through family engagement workshops focused on addressing SEL and mental health needs at home and health fairs that incorporate counseling partners. Chattanooga Prep has a strong counseling program in place through a partnership with Richmont Graduate University, which has been a critical resource to our students and staff, especially during the pandemic. For the 2021-22 school year, we have brought on a full-time counselor and two interns on site and have created a counseling suite, which provides a welcoming space for students, staff, and teachers. Our counselor also provides support to teachers and staff, who are facing a variety of challenges and new stresses as a result of the pandemic. We have also added a new SEL curriculum implemented through a 30-minute class at the end of each school day. If needed, our counseling sessions can also be held virtually, which we did during the pandemic shutdown to continue to serve students. Unfortunately, the school shutdown further exacerbated SEL and mental health needs, and we have seen an increase in referrals for counseling support. Teachers look for warning signs of mental health struggles, such as disengagement with learning, and refer students to counseling. Parents are also able to refer students for counseling support. Richmont provides training for all of our teachers and staff on how to help students respond to trauma and other stressors that can impact their daily lives and learning. Teachers and staff have also learned strategies for identifying students struggling with SEL or mental health needs. 6. SEL Support: Our academic program and mission is focused on building the leaders of tomorrow, and we stress the importance of developing strong social-emotional skills and resiliency in all that we do. We offer a GRIT Series twice monthly featuring an inspiriting and motivating speaker focused on resilience and life skills critical for future career success. Our mentoring program also places each of our students with a mentor focused on developing life skills and providing exposure to the workplace. These programs will be hosted in the gym in all-school assemblies (in the past we have had to break up the classes due to capacity issues in our other meeting rooms). 7. Family Engagement: One of our big priorities is to increase family engagement opportunities that are aligned with the identified needs of our families. As mentioned above, our families have faced financial struggles as a result of the pandemic, and we plan to host a variety of events and workshops to help improve financial stability for the families we serve. Activities will include financial literacy classes, career development opportunities (i.e., hosting companies and nonprofits in the gym who can provide workshops for parents), ESL classes, and college planning workshops to help build a college going culture in the home. Community Impact: In addition to the benefits to students and families, the gym will also become a “hub” for the community, supporting a variety of activities in the heart of Highland Park to spur economic and cultural development that will have a sustained impact for decades to come. 1. Theater and Cultural Arts: The theater and stage will provide opportunities for other community organizations to host performances, including theater, dance, and music. It will be upgraded with state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment, new curtains, and equipment to support high-quality performances by students and community organizations. Through our discussions with other arts and culture groups, including the City of Chattanooga’s Theater Consultant (Richmond Terry), we have learned that there are limited venues in Chattanooga that can accommodate large performances. Our facility will be able to host up to 1,200 people for performances, and we plan to make it available to the community for other arts and cultural events during times when the school does not need to use it (such as weekends and evenings). We envision engaging with several likeminded partners to expand access to cultural arts in the Highland Park community, which has historically lacked equitable access to these opportunities. For example, there his a large Hispanic population in Highland Park that has to travel to other areas in the region to see Latino performing artists. With the new performing arts stage, we can work with La Paz and other organizations to bring these performers to the community. We also envision working with nonprofits to bring performances to the community, including Chattanooga Ballet, the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, RISE, Sound Corps, and Arts Build. 2. Adult Education and Workforce Development: We will work with community partners to provide adult education and workforce development opportunities at the gym in order to increase access for disenfranchised populations who may not otherwise be able to participate. We envision hosting career fairs and events to connect the community to other organizations providing certification and credentialling opportunities, as well as entrepreneurial support, for upward career mobility. For example, we would engage with the Urban League, LAUNCH, and Co.Lab to participate in these types of events. 3. ESL Classes: Over one third of our student body is Hispanic, and many of the parents and families we serve have limited English proficiency at home. We would like to address these challenges by offering ESL classes for families in partnership with other nonprofit organizations. 4. Community Engagement: Chattanooga Prep has always placed a strong emphasis on community engagement, and the gym will provide expanded opportunities to work with community partners. For example, the Highland Park Neighborhood Association has expressed interest in hosting events; we currently host the Chinese School in the gym on weekends (an initiative led by Lulu Copeland); and the Boy Scouts Cherokee Council is using the gym on the weekend for special events and conferences. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | As detailed in the project description above, the gym will create a “hub” in the community that will help to address the impacts of COVID on our students, families, and the broader community. Examples of the economic recovery impact of our proposal include: • Improved academic outcomes for students through enhanced programming addressing learning loss as a result of the pandemic. • Opportunities for students and families to improve their financial stability through college and career preparation activities • Classes and training for families to create upward economic mobility • Theater and cultural arts activities enhancing academic preparation of students and providing equitable access in the community • Increased access to health and wellness supports through health fairs, COVID vaccine events, and mental health awareness events • Increased family engagement to improve the college going culture in the home and support the success of students, breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty • Support of the work of other nonprofits to expand their impact in the community These are just a few examples of how the funds will impact our students, families, Highland Park, and the broader community. |
| Where would your project take place? | The project would take place at the gymnasium on the Chattanooga Prep campus, located at 1849 Union Avenue, Chattanooga, TN 37404. |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 2000000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | Yes |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | Chattanooga Prep has already secured funding for the purchase of the gym. We are currently raising funds to support the renovation costs for the gym. |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | We are seeking an investment of $2 million from the City to cover the renovation costs of the gym, including renovations of the entire gym and classrooms, creation of a fitness center, and the theater lighting, sound equipment, curtains, and other upgrades. Chattanooga Prep will raise funds to support operational costs related to the facility, as well as costs to expand staffing to manage the facility operations and programming. |
| If funded, when would your project start? | February 25, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | The project will be completed by the end of July 2022, just in time for the start of the 2022-23 school year. |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | Chattanooga Prep would track progress through several measures, including: • Construction milestones set with the architect and contractor • Theater upgrades completed and installed • Final completion of all gym renovations on schedule • Record of activities and events hosted in the gym (school and community led) • Records of family members participating in classes and training events • Record of partners engaged the benefits to community • Tracking of training and job placement outcomes for families served by partners • Record of health and wellness and mental health events held in the gym • Total number of individuals attending events in the space In addition, we will work closely with the City to establish additional milestones and outcome tracking to ensure we are able to document the full depth of impact of our new community “hub”. |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | Chattanooga Prep has experience managing similar construction and renovation projects and will work closely with the architect and construction firm to ensure the project stays on schedule and meets all specifications for the spaces. We will hold weekly meetings for construction updates and will closely monitor progress at all stages. In addition, our Creative Arts Director, Michael Howard, will oversee the renovation and transformation of the theater space. He has extensive experience in managing projects of this magnitude and has already secured quotes and bids for the lighting, sound, curtain, and equipment upgrades needed to create a state-of-the-art performing arts stage. He will work closely with our CEO, Brad Scott, and COO, Micha Reed, throughout the project. Once the renovation is completed, our COO and her assistant will oversee facility management and logistics of scheduling outside groups to utilize the space. We will hire additional staff who will assist with management of the facility after hours. Our goal is to ensure the gym is a true community “hub” open and accessible to all. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | As detailed earlier, the project will create a “hub” in the community supporting academics, family engagement, cultural arts programming, health and wellness, mental health awareness, and community engagement—and all activities are designed to strengthen the community and improve economic stability. Examples of the economic recovery impact of our proposal include: • Improved academic outcomes for students through enhanced programming addressing learning loss as a result of the pandemic. • Opportunities for students and families to improve their financial stability through college and career preparation activities • Classes and training for families to create upward economic mobility • Theater and cultural arts activities enhancing academic preparation of students and providing equitable access in the community • Increased access to health and wellness supports through health fairs, COVID vaccine events, and mental health awareness events • Increased family engagement to improve the college going culture in the home and support the success of students, breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty • Support of the work of other nonprofits to expand their impact in the community |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | Chattanooga Prep is intentional in its efforts to engage the community and ensure it is meeting the needs of not only our students but the community we serve. We have already engaged with several partners as we have worked on plans for the renovated gym and performing arts stage, and we will continue to broaden these partnerships. We will host informational meetings on-site to include walkthroughs of the space, as well as host individual meetings with partners to discuss logistics for utilizing the space. We will create an informational brochure and website to advertise the space and ensure we have clear communications and response time to those interested in reserving the space. Examples of partners we are working with currently and/or will work with in the future include (but are not limited to): Highland Park Neighborhood Association, La Paz, Arts Build, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Chattanooga Ballet, RISE, Chinese Association, Boy Scouts, Richmont Graduate University, Lifespring Community Health, Clinica de Medicos, UTC, Urban League, Boys & Girls Club, UTC, Chattanooga State, and several corporate partners who support our mentoring program (Unum, TVA, SunTrust, Tennessee American Water Company, and EPB). Our Community Engagement Director will work with our COO and Development Director to continue to broaden partnerships to utilize the space. |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | Chattanooga Prep’s mission is to engage young men in a rigorous yet supportive learning environment that nurtures resilience, promotes academic excellence, inspires leadership, and prepares critical thinkers. From the beginning, we set out to make Chattanooga Prep different—a hub for innovation and leadership development that will promote creativity and catapult young men toward college and career success. Chattanooga Prep is transforming the education landscape of Hamilton County as the only all-boys public school option in our community. Our single gender focus and educational model differentiates us from other public schools in Hamilton County, including: • Single-gender focus on the unique needs of young men • Data-driven instruction and intervention to provide individualized support for each student • Small class sizes to provide personalized learning (16:1 student to teacher ratio) • Extended school days and summer programs offering academic support and enrichment • Technology-enhanced learning with a 1:1 student-laptop ratio • Literacy across the curriculum to improve reading levels across the school • College readiness programs, job shadowing, and internships • Expeditionary learning to extend learning beyond the classroom and into the community • Leadership and life skills development woven throughout the curriculum to teach students resilience, persistence, and grit—skills they will need to succeed in college and life • An innovative one-to-one mentoring program providing every student with a mentor to guide them throughout their seven-year educational journey • School-operated wrap-around services (food assistance, uniform assistance, laptops, and home internet access, etc.) to help level the playing field for low-income students Creating a new “hub” in the community supporting our students, families, and the broader community—in partnership with the City’s economic recovery efforts—will have a sustained and lasting impact on improving the lives of those who have been impacted the most by the pandemic. We look forward to talking further with the City about our vision and how this project can impact generations to come. |