The Camp House

In today's special episode, Dr. Bryan Johnson joins us to discuss the requested budget increase for the 2019-2020 Hamilton County Department of Education budget. This is not a conversation on whether or not we should increase the budget or how we should raise that money, but walking item by item through the request to understand how these additional funds will benefit our students, teachers, and schools. This is a critical conversation for our community and one we must understand in order to better prepare our children and community for the future.

The budget request falls in to five broad categories: Accelerating Student Achievement, Engaged Community, Efficient & Effective Operations, Great Teachers & Leaders, Future Ready Students. Each category has specific areas that will direct the new funding to help with everything from increasing the number of counselors and social workers to providing elementary art teachers in every school and reading specialists to help our children read at grade level by 3rd grade.

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My guest, Michael Gilliland, is the chair of Chattanooga Organized for Action (COA), one of the founding members of CALEB - Chattanooga in Action for Love, Equality, and Benevolence. CALEB seeks to bring various organizations in Chattanooga, including the faith community, together to address issues affecting our community. Their first initiative is creating a Community Bail Fund, an alternative to the tradition cash bail system. In the episode Michael discusses the inadequacies and inequality inherent in a money bail system and the long term debt cycle that keeps our community members trapped in poverty, whether they are guilty of their crimes or not. The Community Bail Fund helps give an opportunity to those in our communities who would otherwise have very few options.

This is an unjust system affecting many of our neighbors and a system that contributes to generational poverty in our community in much the same way that predatory lending keeps people trapped in cycles of debt and poverty.

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A special episode re-broadcasting HCDE Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson's State of the System address originally delivered on February 7, 2019. Dr. Johnson's speech lays out a vision of our public school system growing into the future, highlighting a five year plan approved and adopted by the Hamilton County School Board. The goals of the five year plan are attainable, measurable, and, most importantly, address the needs and challenges of our children and our educational system.

The episode is only Dr. Johnson's speech. To see the entire event, including student performances, an address from Mayor Coppinger, and slides associated with the speech, please watch the full YouTube video: https://youtu.be/84qVYJMbdmg

A re-release of our most listened to episode, a conversation introducing you to Hamilton County Department of Education Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson.

Original Episode Description:

Dr. Bryan Johnson is the new Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. In this episode we discuss the challenges and opportunities of one of our most critical public institutions and by the end of the conversation it is clear that Dr. Johnson is a leader ready to go to work for the teachers, families, and children of Hamilton County.

Our third re-release episode features another conversation with Christian Rushing, this one on urban design. The episode is a good introduction the history of urban design in contemporary Chattanooga. But more importantly Christian discusses how the shape of our city is a reflection of our own values as a community.

Original Episode Description:

What do our public spaces say about us? How does the design of the places we inhabit shape our imaginations and lived experiences?

Christian Rushing has a background in architecture but ultimately fell in love with urban planning, the process of designing cities and public spaces for the common good. At one time Christian was part of the Downtown Planning & Design Studio and is now the Executive Director of the Chattanooga Design Studio.

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Our annual re-release of one of our favorite interviews with Christian Rushing who passed away two years ago on February 1, 2017. Christian is a radiant person whose joy is infectious and whose wisdom should not be forgotten.

Original episode description:

Ask Christian Rushing how he is doing and I can promise you he will say "Living the dream!".

Seventeen months ago Christian was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Despite that, Christian is one of the most radiant people you will ever have the pleasure to meet. And so far Christian has defied the odds. The doctors gave him a year to live and up to this point Christian has pushed the limits and is a statistical outlier.

This conversation gets deeply personal. It is a conversation about life, death, prayer, and family.

Thank you again to Christian for sitting down for this conversation, it is one that I will be forever grateful for and will always remember.

Learn more about Christian's story and follow his journey on his blog: http://christianrushing.blogspot.com/

We are taking some time to re-release some older episodes that are still relevant today and we begin with our discussion with Karen Hundt on downtown Chattanooga's Form Based Code.

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In the summer of 2016 Chattanooga City Council passed a document that will literally shape our city's future, the new Form Based Code. Breaking away from a coding system that was created in the 1950s to support the development of suburbs, the new Form Based Code is the result of community vision for more than a decade. In the Downtown Plan of 2005 and the City Center Plan of 2013 we dreamed about the future of our city. Now we have the code in place to make it a reality. Karen Hundt of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency joins us to talk about the process, vision, and details of this new coding system.

Referenced in this episode:

Downtown Chattanooga Form Based Code (the actual, massive document) - http://bit.ly/2d3CKNd

CHA-FBC Website - http://bit.ly/2dcf0qC

Placemakers - this link is the one Karen mentions where you can find other cities who have adopted similar Form Based Codes - http://bit.ly/2cz86L6

Regional Planning Agency - http://bit.ly/2cEaTYW

2013 City Center Plan - http://bit.ly/2bSvVj3

2005 Downtown Plan - http://bit.ly/2ckZNGQ

A brief message to update you on the podcast and coming changes!

Mark McKnight is the Executive Director of Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center. In this second half of our conversation we discuss the fight to save the endangered Red Wolf and the future of Reflection Riding's innovative efforts to promote conservation and ecology in Chattanooga.

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Mark McKnight is the Executive Director of Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center. In this first half of our conversation we discuss Mark's transition from leading one of Chattanooga's most exciting startups to leading one of our community's oldest nature conservatories as well as the creation and history of Reflection Riding.

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