Our Pace National location in Mt. Juliet, TN has been working hard on a partnership with the Cumberland River Compact (CRC), which is an environmental conservation group dedicated to keeping the Cumberland River and its tributaries clean, and keeping water resources sustainable. For the past 20 years, they have been very involved in educating communities in water stewardship and helping keep the river clean. Previously, Pace National had been involved with the CRC through the CRC’s Dragon Boat festival and Creek Clean-Up Day. Now, they are more proactively searching out more opportunities with the CRC to become a more integral part of the community.
Through Pace National’s partnership with the CRC, they were made aware of the CRC’s amazing work with local schools and were eager to jump on board. The first school they will be working with is a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) Magnet School called John B. Whitsitt Elementary. The CRC and Whitsitt Elementary have partnered to host Water Week!, an entire week dedicated to learning more about environmental conservation, which happened to coincide with Earth Day. Professionals from different fields and walks of life came in during the event to speak to young students about environmental conservation, and how those students can make a difference in their homes and their communities.
Some details about Whitsitt Elementary:
Whitsitt Elementary is a Title 1 school, which means that there are a large number of economically disadvantaged students in the school, and the federal government is providing funds to the school to help those students meet their educational goals. Recently, Whitsitt Elementary was the recipient of a Magnet School Assistant Program (MSAP) Grant.
The Magnet School Grant has a mission of making available to all students equal opportunity to experience challenging academic content, and increasing students’ knowledge of not only academic subjects, but also of vocational, marketable skills. Magnet schools are typically developed around a method of teaching or theme. Whitsitt Elementary’s theme is Environmental Engineering.
For an elementary school whose learning is based on Environmental Engineering, having one of, if not the biggest, single-location environmental testing laboratory in their backyard is fortunate. But the real value comes through all the people at Pace who have jumped at the opportunity to collaborate. The Pace National location has had more people express interest in going to talk to students than there were spots available. Their leadership team, safety officers, and employees are all very receptive and enthusiastic.
The inaugural group of speakers will include Joseph Raup, an Assistant Chemist in the Radiochemistry Lab, and Mohseen Khan, a Technical Specialist in Lab Operations.
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