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Changing Perspectives: The Impact of

Ford’s Blue Oval City on Secondary and

Postsecondary Education in Rural West

Tennessee

By Dorrie J. Powell

This article, part of a series by members of the Bulletin’s Editorial Board, seeks to share insight
into an aspect of the theme for this issue: “Changing Perspectives on Teaching and Learning.”
Board member Powell considers the educational impact of an economic change agent—Ford
Motor Company/SK Innovation’s planned Blue Oval City manufacturing campus to be built in
rural West Tennessee. Using regional media sources as well as personal communications with
leaders at K–12 public school systems and public postsecondary institutions surrounding the
planned manufacturing site, Powell explores changes already underway in Tennessee schools
only a few months into development of the industrial complex.

he theme for this issue, “Changing Perspectives on Teaching and Learning,”
Tresonates with me, especially in the context of why and how such perspectives
change. What influences and opportunities change educational perspectives? How
do educational institutions prepare for rapid change when a significant change agent
appears on the horizon?
In June 2020, I retired after 45 years in education. During the last 8 years of
my career, I worked to change student and family perspectives regarding secondary
and postsecondary education in a rural school system in West Tennessee. My job
was that of site coordinator for a federal discretionary grant program—Gaining
Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)—that is
designed to increase the number of low-income students prepared for entry into
and success in postsecondary education. GEAR UP activities and services typically
include college campus tours, financial aid workshops, job-site visits, college and
career events, and college signing day celebrations, all in an effort to shape and
broaden student and family perspectives regarding higher education.
Often, low-income students such as those in GEAR UP will be the first in their
families to attend any kind of college and will possibly be the first in their families
to graduate from high school. Because they are trailblazers in this respect, first-
in-the-family students typically have no family network either to encourage their
educational and career aspirations or to guide and support them as they pursue their
goals. Some low-income families even discourage their students from getting a
better education or better job than they have themselves. At the other end of the
spectrum, families with a background of educational and career attainment may
set expectations for their students that do not necessarily align with their students’
talents, interests, or abilities. In both cases, perspectives may need to change.
One of my recurring messages to students and parents was the need for training
beyond high school if students hoped to be competitive in today’s job market.
Another message was the need for students to find their own best fit academically
and financially. If I were still working with high school students today, I would have

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