Our investment in schools illuminates our values

I've been lucky to spend a lot of time in Knox County Schools to see firsthand the dedication and passion of the people who educate, guide and care for our children.

I've participated twice in the KCS Principal for a Day program (once at Whittle Springs Middle School and this fall at Vine Middle Magnet School) and I serve as president of the board of directors for Kids Place, the afterschool program based at Sequoyah Elementary School.

When my family moved to Knoxville in 2019, it was a quick move. We didn't have a lot of time to research the school district, but my wife and I were in sync on two things: We wanted to live downtown just like we have in other cities we've lived in and we were committed to public schools.

For kids who live downtown (there's not a lot of them), the designated elementary school is Sequoyah, and it's a tremendous place. It ranks extremely high on every measure of academic success and parents are incredibly supportive of the school. It didn't take long for us to encounter the great work of the Sequoyah Elementary Foundation, which provides substantial financial support for a STEM program, teaching and enrichment positions, and professional development for staff.

For kids who live downtown, the designated middle school is Vine, which is an incredible school, as well. The staff and students are rich in talent and commitment. My son loves going there and I'm proud to be part of the school community (go, Golden Bears!). Vine collectively has struggled in rankings, a combination of all sorts of factors out of control of the administrators, teachers and staff who pour their hearts into their work. One of the factors is the challenge for parents who are working hard to support their families to have the time and resources to spin up and support a foundation like Sequoyah's.

In her April 23 story, reporter Areena Arora delves into the advantages individual school foundations confer on students fortunate to have that support behind them, and the challenges for schools without the backing of a foundation to fill in the gaps.

The point of the the reporting is not that foundations are a problem – they're not. The economics and education experts we talked to, in fact, warned about drawing straight lines between school funding and student success (though there are definite connections) and the unintended side effects that can damage the entire public school system if engaged parents, in particular, perceive they have no say in how they support their children's schools.

Dive deeper: Foundations give big boosts to some Knox County schools, but others are left behind

We hope the report fosters a discussion about how we invest in our public schools and how that aligns with our aspirations for our children and the future of our community.

Public schools reflect our values like no other collective enterprise. How a community invests in education tells you all you need to know about how it thinks about the future, about strengthening the common welfare and about creating opportunities for every child.

And that's always worth talking about.

Joel Christopher is the executive editor. Email: joel.christopher@knoxnews.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Our investment in schools illuminates our values