Brag Cam | Anderson County 30 Plus Club
Editor’s note: The News Sentinel’s new video feature Brag Cam allows local educators, parents and students to give credit to someone at their school who deserves recognition.
As a senior at Clinton High School, Logan Owens is determined to get a four-year college degree, even though his parents did not.
“My dad had two years of technical school and worked in a factory. My mom’s a self-employed painter,” said Logan. “She’s always said, ‘You don’t want to do what I do. Go get an education and get a real job.’”
Photos by Rebecca Williams/Special to the News Sentinel 30 Plus Club members at Anderson County High School are, back row from left, Gene Salem, Jordan Fleming, Dustin McCoy, Will Oaks, Connor Holden. Front row, Wes Cloud, Christina Webber, Sophia Shelton and Jessee McCrary.
Logan is one of 14 students in Anderson County recently admitted into a new county-wide “30 Plus Club,” which recognizes students at Clinton High School and Anderson County High School who have scored a 30 or higher on the ACT college entrance exam.
30 Plus Club members get a free parking pass, prom ticket, yearbook, no graduation fees and a home game sports pass for the year — gifts totaling about $200. Plus, they get bragging rights for being way above the Tennessee ACT average of 19.6.
“I had heard there was free parking,” said Dustin McCoy of Anderson County High School. “But all this other stuff was a nice bonus.”
Students said they’ve received mostly positive comments from their classmates.
“Most of my classmates don’t think I got a good grade on the ACT. When they find out, they ask me who I cheated off of,” joked Connor Holden of Anderson County High School.
The club is supposed to inspire students to go further in education, said 30 Plus Club organizer Angela “Hoppy” Merryman.
“It’s something new for us,” she said. “We’re a rural school system that has a lot of poverty. We have a lot of people who don’t know that it’s OK to expect high achievement, even if you’re poor and don’t have many resources. Poor does not have to equal under-achieving.”
For several years, all Tennessee juniors have been required to take the ACT, whether or not they think they’ll go to college. Only five percent of students nationally score a 30 or above (out of 36). At ACHS, the average ACT score was 19.1 in 2012, and at Clinton High School, it was 18.8, according to the Tennessee State Report Card.
Merryman said some kids have been taking the test again and again to try and make a 30, inspired by the club. Scoring a 30 opens the door to many college scholarships, Merryman said.
“This makes me want to go for higher schools,” said Dylan Stiles, a Clinton senior who’s in the club. “Like, more prestigious. Maybe I’ll apply to a couple of Ivy Leagues if I go out of state.”
“For the average student in Anderson County, the only people they know who went to college are their teacher and staff at the doctor’s office,” said Merryman. “In our community and churches, there’s only a small percentage that have gone to college. And even if they want to, there’s the cost. This is designed to help them access college.”
The 30 Plus Club is just one initiative funded by a seven-year, $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education called Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP).
The grant aims to increase the number of low-income, first-generation students enrolling in college. Fifteen Tennessee school systems received the grant, offered to systems with at least 50 percent of students eligible for free and reduced lunch.
Anderson County is also offering mentoring and tutoring to students beginning in seventh grade, and teachers and staff are helping older students apply for college and financial aid, among other efforts.
On Aug. 23, at the annual football rivalry game between Clinton and Anderson County High Schools, fans were united in honoring the members of the 30 Plus Club.
“These kids got a standing ovation,” said Merryman. “Their parents were in tears and elated that the community was recognizing this success.”
MORE INFO: Where will the News Sentinel’s Brag Cam show up next? In two weeks, we will post another video. See if your school is featured in the Brag Cam. Send suggestions to community@knoxnews.com
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Comments » 12
ccjensen writes:
That is the BEST news story in a very long time. Congratulations to the 30 Plus members and the forward thinking school staff and administration that made it a 'want-to-get' award.
We are so tired of all the athletic awards given. The 30 Plus award is to be coveted and celebrated. Well done, Anderson County and Clinton High Schools....you make us PROUD.
Axemeagain writes:
Darn Common Core and RTT. These kids need to go back to spelling books published in 1920 to be clean of government indoctrination.
NomDePlume (Inactive) writes:
This is what happens when you take God out of public schools.
corrompu writes:
I think other counties should start something like this as well. It's good for kids to be recognized for their academic achievements. Cudos to Anderson County and Clinton High for acknowledging these students.
goingape1 writes:
People get smarter?
NomDePlume (Inactive) writes:
Knee-jerk response. I didn't even read the article.
SeekTruth writes:
Brag Cam? While this initiative is well-intentioned, I just heard a turd plop in the punchbowl of euphoria. Boasting not only is in poor taste, it's just plain wrong. Codifying snobbery through a school-sanctioned 30 Plus Club demonstrates how dehumanizing our culture is becoming. Whatever happened to discretion? Our obsession with flaunting winner-takes-all material achievement is evidence of a spiritual vacuum. We worship sports, wealth, intelligence, and beauty. And we put a number on all of it and wear it on our sleeve (or stuck on the back of our SUV). Standardized test scores correlate with IQ and test-taking skills as much as anything. We don't get to pick our parents, nor the traits that we inherit (or don't). Reducing the worth of a human being to a numeric rank is just plain stupid (and cruel). What's next, the Perfect 10 Club for the students rated most beautiful? That would really get the ratings up for the Brag Cam. Ain't that America, home of the free... I guess I own the distinction for posting the sole dissenting opinion. Where's the Tylenol?
southernbelle79 writes:
Congratulations! Yes, this is just a number on a single test. Hard work and other personality traits are as important to success in life as test scores. If we are gonna brag about the achievements of our offspring-- and of course we will -- I want to hear about all their accomplishments, including academics. We should always celebrate excellence.
Tennball2 writes:
You define academic performance as "snobbery"? There is a reason you hold the distinction for posting the sole dissenting opinion; you are flat out wrong. We need more focus on students who perform well. Beyond the fact they have earned the recognition with great effort, it also shows others it may be within reach. Did you even take the ACT or SAT for an advanced degree? It appears you either didn't or performed at a substandard level. Theses exams are standardized measurements required for the opportunity to advance oneself into college. They are not a beauty contest.
ccjensen writes:
SeekTruth writes:
Brag Cam? While this initiative is well-intentioned, I just heard a turd plop in the punchbowl of euphoria. Boasting not only is in poor taste, it's just plain wrong. Codifying snobbery through a school-sanctioned 30 Plus Club demonstrates how dehumanizing our culture is becoming.
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Still resentful that you were stuck in the 13 Plus club?
SeekTruth writes:
Dear Detractors:
I didn't say that academic performance was "snobbery," I said that bragging and boasting about it was. Apparently that distinction was missed. Personal test scores should be guarded with discretion, not broadcast in the media on a so-called Brag Cam. What have we become if our motivation is derived from achieving the right to hold up our test score number and brag about it in someone else's face? Why don't we just tattoo everyone's IQ on their forehead and be done with it?
When we worship at the football stadium we're living vicariously through a team as we nervously glance at the scoreboard, but bragging over our own kid's test scores takes vicarious ego-stroking to a new level. The winners want to pile on -- validate their genes. Now the parents are teaching elitism to their kids. Vanity of vanities.
The ACT measures many things of which hard work is down the list. Misconceptions abound. The high-stakes standardized test-driven meritocracy will have to run the full political cycle. We're setting up an electronic socio-economic caste system. It's Orwellian.
Oh yea CJ, my comments are not derived from sour grapes, I just try to walk in the other person's shoes. Try climbing down from your ivory tower and you'll gain a fresh perspective. I'm happy to be the lone wolf on this one, but I'm not going to brag about it.
SeekTruth writes:
"Did you even take the ACT or SAT for an advanced degree? It appears you either didn't or performed at a substandard level."
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Since you presumed to cast aspersions on my academic credentials, I can report that I have 3 college degrees including a B.S. and an M.S. both from so-called Top 25 public universities. You assume far too much.
See: http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandrev...
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