Tenn. Promise students head back to school early
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JACKSON, Tenn. — State lawmakers visited Jackson State Community College on Monday as Tennessee Promise scholarship students kick off the school year early, taking classes that could put them ahead when school starts. “It’s giving me like a jump start I feel like,” Whitney Barnhill, a Tennessee Promise student, said. Barnhill is one of 21 rising college freshmen taking classes at Jackson State Community College this week. “I really just want to focus on school and getting my education done,” she said. “I just think it’s really important in my life, like I feel like I should get my education and I feel like this is helping me.” The three-week Summer Bridge Program allows Tennessee Promise students to brush up on their math and English skills before taking a test that determines what courses they take in the fall. “Our hope is just that the students have maybe a more solid foundation than they would have had otherwise,” Executive Director of Tennessee Promise Mike Krause said. State lawmakers visited campus Monday to see first hand the program they approved. State leaders said the Summer Bridge Program cost the state about $400,000, but it is free of charge for the students. “Use this as a learning experience of what college is going to be like,” Jackson State Community College Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Larry Bailey said. Barnhill said she hopes to be ahead when school starts. “It’s been really fun actually like learning, being able to learn how to be a college student before it actually starts and just preparing for our classes and stuff,” she said. The state offers the extra instruction at all 13 state community colleges.
