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points for students whether with a high school diploma, certificate, associate degree,
or bachelor’s degree” (personal communication, April 25, 2022). Because of Ford’s
expressed need for a variety of skilled workers, including those with so-called soft
skills, Haywood High School is being intentional in program alignment to support
advancing opportunities with Blue Oval City. This includes partnerships for dual
enrollment, not only with TCAT but also with Jackson State Community College
(JSCC) and with local 4-year universities. When
finalized, the high school’s Early College High,
The Ford Blue Oval City in partnership with JSCC, will allow students
to complete an Associate Degree in Applied
announcement is certainly Sciences while also completing their high

changing perspectives on school diploma. The high school already offers
a TCAT dual-enrollment opportunity that gives
teaching and learning in this part high school students the chance to complete
their first-level TCAT certificate by completing
of Tennessee. 4 years in the high school’s relevant CTE
courses (B. Avent, personal communication,
April 25, 2022).
Steven Gibson, former director of CTE and
transportation as well as GEAR UP project manager for Hardeman County Schools,
believes that some existing CTE programs at the high school level as well as the
postsecondary level will see a shift in focus to better meet the needs of Blue Oval
City: automotive programs that emphasize electric vehicles and their maintenance;
robotics programs that are added, enhanced, or altered to align with Blue Oval City’s
equipment; and advanced manufacturing programs that more closely align to the
needs of one specific manufacturer: Ford (personal communication, May 5, 2022).
Although course alignment is a major step for both secondary and postsecondary
institutions alike, some secondary administrators are especially concerned about
providing qualified instructors for these highly technical courses. During a national
teacher shortage, many schools are struggling to find qualified instructional staff.
Principal Avent is concerned about career technical courses as well as courses in
science and mathematics, noting that additional and even existing courses will need
qualified teachers. Haywood County Schools is addressing the teacher shortage with
a Tennessee career pathway program—Teaching as a Profession— designed to grow
future instructional staff (B. Avent, personal communication, April 25, 2022).
In neighboring Hardeman County, the issue of qualified instructional staff also
concerns Director of Schools Dr. Christy Smith. She hopes that TCAT-Jackson
dual-enrollment teachers will help them meet instructional demand, at least in CTE
courses. Smith expects that teacher pay will have to increase if school systems are
to be competitive with the businesses that come into the area to support Blue Oval
City’s needs (personal communication, April 27, 2022). Sisk confirms that even
the TCATs can find themselves competing with industry to attract qualified faculty
(personal communication, May 9, 2022). Gibson, after years managing Hardeman
County Schools’ transportation system, also points to a shortage in bus drivers, a
personnel problem most recently exacerbated by the pandemic and possibly made
worse by the arrival of new employment opportunities such as Blue Oval City
(personal communication, May 5, 2022).
Other postsecondary institutions near the megasite are hoping to attract students
to programs that will prepare them for jobs or advancement in the Blue Oval City

58 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators