September 26, 2016
By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
Rutherford County Schools
LaVergne High School will be getting a new, state-funded counselor to assist students with college preparedness, thanks to a new program announced by Gov. Bill Haslam today.
The new program, Advise TN, includes 30 schools representing 26 counties throughout the state, according to Haslam's announcement.
Advise TN was created to increase the number of students accessing higher education.
LaVergne Principal Dirk Ash said he is excited to have been selected as a partner school.
Services related to program will also include one-on-one counseling sessions for each junior and senior, and other events. The program will allow provide college counseling services to 10,000 junior and senior students this fall.
“The work that current guidance counsels do in high schools is amazing,” said Ash. “This new guidance position will be very beneficial to the students of LaVergne High School.”
According to a statement released by governor’s office, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission “aims to continue the momentum of Tennessee’s growing college enrollment rate, which has increased to a historic high of 62.5 percent in 2015.”
Monday’s release indicated Advise TN was included in Haslam’s 2016-17 budget proposal and approved by the General Assembly with funding of more than $2.4 million.
More than 100 schools applied and were selected through a rigorous evaluation process.
Haslam launched a Drive to 55 program, in 2013, in an effort to eventually increase the total number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary degree or certificate to 55 percent by 2025.
“I am excited for our students to have this specialist to focus on our graduates following their next journey in life,” Ash said. “This can be a real difference maker in the lives of our students.”