The Greene County School system has announced that it has won a $499,100 USDA Rural Development grant.

The funds will be used, along with matching funds from the Niswonger Foundation and both the Greene and Hawkins County School Systems, to implement distance-learning programs at all four Greene County high schools along with Clinch School and Cherokee High School in Hawkins County.

Greene County Director of Schools Joe Parkins said in a press release, "This grant will afford Greene County Schools opportunities to not only expand our curriculum but provide additional staff development options. It will greatly enhance our capabilities to better serve students and staff."

Greene County Mayor Alan Broyles said, "I am certainly glad that the grant came through and it will be handled properly by the school system. We are elated that this opportunity has come about for the students of Greene County. It will be an asset to the school system and our community."

Oliver "Buzz" Thomas, executive eirector of the Niswonger Foundation, said, "It is great to see what you can accomplish when partners work together. It is a tribute to the Greene and Hawkins school systems as well as the Unicoi and Johnson County schools to see the efforts of their collaboration with the Niswonger Foundation come to fruition.

"The opportunities that this Distance Learning Program will provide to the students of these school districts will be invaluable. From taking an AP Physics course to dual enrollment courses at Walters State or ETSU, the possibilities of this program to expand their existing curriculums will be exciting to watch unfold.

Thomas added, "I want to personally thank Scott Niswonger for his willingness to provide the matching funds for the grant and place his confidence in this grant partnership meeting the 21st Century needs of the students of East Tennessee."

Both districts will begin work immediately to begin the process of procuring the equipment budgeted in the grant and start preparations for training in the spring 2009 semester.

The goal is to have a pilot distance-learning course offered to students in the fall semester of 2009. Greene County has tentatively looked to partnering with Greeneville High School for an additional foreign language course to be taught using the distance-learning equipment from this grant.

Tennessee state Rep. David Hawk, R-5th, of Greeneville, reacted by saying, "Receiving this grant for distance learning will give our students additional opportunities to succeed in their educational experiences. I appreciate the commitment of Greene County Schools, Hawkins County Schools and the Niswonger Foundation in forging ahead with this important partnership."

U.S. Rep. David Davis, R-1st, of Johnson City, said, "The USDA grant to Greene and Hawkins County Schools with the Niswonger Foundation will advance learning in these counties for students. This funding will increase educational opportunities for the students. The counties, USDA and the Niswonger Foundation are to be commended for their investment in education for the First District."

The Greene/Hawkins/Niswonger Partnership was one of only 105 applications selected this year to receive funding from the USDA Rural Development Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program.

In the state of Tennessee, there were only three K-12 school district applications approved of which two were sponsored by the Niswonger Foundation.

Each high school will also be looking to incorporate innovative ways to bring local or remote health science resources to their classrooms as well as developing content that showcases some of Greene County's historic resources to other schools across the country and world.

The Greene and Hawkins school districts have procured partnerships with organizations such as the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, Tusculum College, Walters State Community College, East Tennessee State University, Hawkins County Memorial Hospital, Laughlin Memorial Hospital and Takoma Regional Hospital to achieve these goals.