{"id":2163,"date":"2025-07-28T12:03:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/clee\/?p=2163"},"modified":"2025-07-28T12:09:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T16:09:35","slug":"carter-county-schools-honored-by-project-raise-featured-on-wcyb-news-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/clee\/carter-county-schools-honored-by-project-raise-featured-on-wcyb-news-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Carter County Schools Honored by Project RAISE, Featured on WCYB News 5\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Carter County Schools is making headlines across Tennesse after being named the Commended School District of the Year by Project RAISE <\/strong>for 2024\u20132025. The recognition, highlighted by WCYB News 5, celebrates the district\u2019s outstanding leadership and commitment to student mental health in rural Tennessee.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project RAISE, short for Rural Access to Interventions in School Environments<\/em>, is a five-year, federally funded initiative led by the Tennessee Department of Education’s Office of Academics, Special Education and Student Supports Team<\/strong>, under the direction of Dr. April Ebbinger<\/strong>. The project was created to address a critical shortage of school-based mental health professionals in rural areas. Through strategic investments in financial support during internships,\u00a0relocation support, retention support, and professional development, Project RAISE is helping build sustainable mental health systems in schools across Tennessee.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Center for Learning, Education & Employment (CLEE) at the University of Tennessee is proud to serve as the program\u2019s lead partner. CLEE oversees the day-to-day implementation of Project RAISE, ensuring that stipends are processed, events are executed, and systems run smoothly for all 59 participating districts. Our team is honored to help bring the state’s vision to life, especially when districts like Carter County go above and beyond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Since joining Project RAISE in 2022, Carter County has modeled what full engagement looks like. In the current school year alone, the district hosted and trained two school social work interns, hired a former intern as a full-time school psychologist, and leveraged grant funding to retain experienced mental health staff. This strategic and intentional effort earned them the statewide honor. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Individual leadership was also celebrated. Traci Ward<\/strong> was named School Social Work Supervisor of the Year<\/strong> for her tireless commitment and guidance. \u201cOne caring adult can turn everything around for these kids,\u201d she shared in her interview with WCYB, capturing the heart of why this work matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project RAISE\u2019s impact is broad. What began as a goal to support 40 rural districts has grown to include 59 school districts<\/strong>, reaching more than 202,000 students<\/strong>. To date, the program has helped place or train 88 interns<\/strong> in 35 districts<\/strong>, while supporting the recruitment and retention of 160 school-based mental health professionals<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to partnerships between TDOE, CLEE, and districts like Carter County, Tennessee is proving that rural schools can lead the way in student mental health and that systems-level change is possible when everyone works together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcf0 Watch the full WCYB News 5 story and read more here<\/strong>: Carter County Schools Prioritize Mental Health with Innovative Support Program<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carter County Schools is making headlines across Tennesse after being named the Commended School District of the Year by Project RAISE for 2024\u20132025. The recognition, highlighted by WCYB News 5, celebrates the district\u2019s outstanding leadership and commitment to student mental health in rural Tennessee.\u00a0 Project RAISE, short for Rural Access to Interventions in School Environments, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":2165,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10,9,80,82,8,79,81],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-center-doings","8":"category-clee-in-the-news","9":"category-mental-health","10":"category-mental-health-professionals","11":"category-cleenews","12":"category-project-raise","13":"category-rural-tennessee","14":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCarter County Schools Honored by Project RAISE, Featured on WCYB News 5\u00a0 - Center for Learning, Education, and Employment<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/clee\/carter-county-schools-honored-by-project-raise-featured-on-wcyb-news-5\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carter County Schools Honored by Project RAISE, Featured on WCYB News 5\u00a0 - Center for Learning, Education, and Employment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Carter County Schools is making headlines across Tennesse after being named the Commended School District of the Year by Project RAISE for 2024\u20132025. 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