Pieces of PIE
What makes up the pie center?
The PIE Innovation Center is a unique Complex that will house K-12 education, postsecondary education, nonprofits, and business and industry under one roof.
The PIE Innovation Center will create an intensive, strategic student experience through collaboration with business, industry, and nonprofit organizations. This educational experience will give students a vision for their future through embedded work-based learning and experiential
learning in STEM, changing learning pathways, and promoting design thinking.
Education and workforce development promote the concept of teamwork and collaboration. The PIE Innovation Center truly makes this happen by providing students within our region:
- on-site business settings to engage in real-world work experiences;
- the necessary skills to be college and career-ready;
- state-of-the-art educational opportunities in CTE focus areas of welding, machining,
mechatronics, chemical technology, Information Technology,
work-based learning opportunities; - post-secondary educational opportunities
The PIE Center is made up of the following sections:
Career Residency, Compass, Conclave, Connect, CORE, Wacker Commons, Medium/Heavy Truck Technology, and The Technology Center
Career Residency
Career Residency at PIE, a 31,720 sq. ft. area within the PIE Center, will provide students with a vision for their future, opportunity to learn actual work-related skills, and pre-apprenticeships for postsecondary careers or further education.
Compass
A compass is a tool that provides direction. The COMPASS @PIE is an educational training center and an office complex housing Bradley County Employees that will provide students with college and career direction.
Wacker Commons
Wacker Commons is a unique multi-use facility located in the PIE Innovation Center, providing an event center to the Cleveland and Bradley County Region.
Connect
The PIE Center will create an innovative student experience through collaboration with businesses, industry, and nonprofit organizations changing learning pathways—providing experiential learning in STEM, embedded work-based learning experiences, and promotion of design thinking.
Core
The PIE Innovation Center will make it possible for students to operate on flexible schedules (A/B, morning, evening, summer) to earn credits and received skilled training.
Community
Community @ PIE is an engaging retail space for local businesses and industries to make money while providing Work-Based Learning opportunities and training. This collaboration with Industry and Education creates a pipeline of ready workers and allows students to experience the workforce while in high school.
Medium/Heavy Trucks
The Medium-Heavy Truck Technology Program is a new program that will be offered to the students of Bradley, Polk, and Meigs Counties. The program is a TCAT program and students will leave high school with postsecondary credentials.
Technology Center
The Technology Center will also be home to the Bradley County Schools Instructional Technology Coaches. The Tech Coaches provide instructional technology training and support to all students and teachers across the district.
CAREER RESIDENCY
Career Residency @ PIE, a 31,720 sq. ft. area within the PIE Center, will provide students with a vision for their future, opportunity to learn actual work-related skills and pre-apprenticeships for postsecondary careers or further education. Career Residency will offer instruction associated with HVAC, plumbing, general construction, electrical, etc, enabling students to “jump-start” apprenticeship programs required in most trades. The youth pre-apprenticeship program links business and industry with high school, postsecondary, and registered apprenticeships to drive curriculum theory, experiential labs, and on-the-job work opportunities.
After completing Fundamentals of Construction at their home school and earning partial NCCER certification, students can enter Career Residency @ PIE during their junior or senior high school year. Upon entering this program, students will have dedicated support to meet scheduling and academic challenges linking high school requirements with postsecondary coursework while logging pre-apprenticeship hours.
The capstone classes and projects in the newly developed MEP program will cover CTE curriculum standards while meeting the expectations of the entry-level apprenticeship requirements for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. Objectives and checklists created for each program of study will provide direction for students and furnish documentation for entry into apprenticeship programs following high school graduation.
COMPASS AT PIE
A compass is a tool that provides direction. The COMPASS @PIE is an educational training center and an office complex housing Bradley County Employees that will provide students with college and career direction. COMPASS @ PIE includes a training space that will seat up to 200 attendees with breakout areas accessible from the main space through mobile garage doors. Also in COMPASS @ PIE is a catering kitchen with an ice machine,16 round tables, comfortable chairs, and a media package with a podium for multiple setup options for optimum usage and effective training.
Compass@PIE features: a conference room which seats up to 20 people and is available for rent, PIE Center's career coaches' offices, and Bradley County Schools psychologists and special services.
Wacker Commons
Wacker Commons is a unique multi-use facility located in the PIE Innovation Center, providing an event center to the Cleveland and Bradley County Region. This center will be utilized to hold academic competitions, college and career fairs, conferences, professional development training, social events, sporting events, graduations, theatrical events, concerts, and showcase opportunities for business and industry.
The venue has the capacity to hold 1100 people seated in chairs and 600 seated at tables. This unique event center will be the largest venue in Cleveland/Bradley County besides churches. Available for use when renting Wacker Commons - required floor covering for all events other than sporting events. There is a catering kitchen, refreshment serving area, and restrooms.
CONNECT@PIE
The PIE Center will create an innovative student experience through collaboration with business, industry, and nonprofit organizations changing learning pathways—providing experiential learning in STEM, embedded work-based learning experiences, and promotion of design thinking. Although designed toward educational opportunity, the PIE Center will also impact the community’s prosperity and well-being by securing this generation’s ability to pursue careers and post-secondary education with focus and purpose.
Education is the instrument for enriching the lives of our students, helping them to recognize their potential and imparting a vision for their future. Although reflecting the primary mission of the PIE Center, education alone will not be the solution if students’ inadequate life skills, lack of financial resources, and social dysfunction are barriers to success. Thus, the incorporation and onsite location of Connect@PIE. The partners that will be located in Connect@PIE are UT Extension, Centerstone Counseling, American Job Center and Character Coaches. Connect@PIE also houses three dual enrollment rooms that will be used for a variety of classes which will be available to students and adult learners.
The social service organizations located in Connect@PIE will provide immediate and readily
accessible help to students navigating challenges that impact their ability to focus on educational
opportunities or to look toward their future. Specifically, students will be able to
- Challenge the culture of generational poverty with social-emotional education and counseling;
- Receive onsite support that eliminates the access barrier, and
- Navigate supportive resources that can provide a vision for success.
CORE
The core is the central most part of something. CORE @PIE is the centralized STEAM Training Center at the PIE Innovation Center. The CORE will offer an expansion of current Career and Technical Education Programs such as machining, welding, advanced mechatronics, advanced health sciences and pre-nursing, along with audiovisual internship opportunities. In addition, CORE in collaboration with Cleveland State Community College is creating a new program of study in Chemical Technology Engineering (Chem Tech). Students will also be able to utilize Training Dojos that will provide training for quality assurance, OSHA, precision measurement.
Four unique classrooms are located in CORE that will allow students to learn in a collaborative and project based environment. Each classroom will be different to meet the needs of students and projects. These classrooms were made possible through Bank of Cleveland, the Brown Family, the C.L. Hardwick Family, and Jackson Industries.
The PIE Innovation Center will make it possible for students to operate on flexible schedules (A/B, morning, evening, summer) to earn postsecondary credits and received skilled training.
The CORE is projected to impact 350 students per semester. Students will receive dual enrollment, dual credit, industry certifications, and real-world Work-Based Learning opportunities. The CORE curriculum is designed for industry partners to work collaboratively with teachers and students to ensure students receive specialized training and are college and career ready.
Outside of the McKee STEM Center will be the CORE Cafe. Located within the cafe will be a Coffee and PIE kiosk that will be run by students in partnership with Junior Achievement. The Cafe provides grab and go lunches for the students.
COMMUNITY @ PIE
Community @ PIE is an engaging retail space for local businesses and industries to make money while providing Work-Based Learning opportunities and training. This collaboration with Industry and Education creates a pipeline of ready workers and allows students to experience the workforce while in high school. The businesses that are located in Community @ PIE are Boys and Girls Club, Southern Heritage Bank, Just Love Coffee, Mint Condition, and Center For Sports Medicine.
MEDIUM/HEAVY TRUCKS
The Medium-Heavy Truck Technology Center @PIE is a 16,000 square ft. area that will be able to accommodate four large trucks used for skill development and post-secondary credentialing. The center was designed in collaboration with McKee Foods, Covenant Transport, and TCAT Athens. The McKee family invited a team from Bradley County to visit their Gentry Arkansas location where they provide a Medium-Heavy Truck Technology Program to their local high school and postsecondary institution.
The Medium-Heavy Truck Technology Program is a new program that will be offered to the students of Bradley, Polk, and Meigs Counties. The program is a TCAT program and students will leave high school with postsecondary credentials.
Bradley County Schools newest Technology Center will host our Dell Student Tech Crew program. The program was implemented in August 2021 and has grown exponentially in our secondary schools. Consequently, our relationship has flourished with Dell Technologies as they continue to support The Dell Student Tech program and offer students the ability to earn Dell Technician Certification. The program benefit is twofold since it provides students with a technician certification and assists the technology department with Chromebook repairs. Students can assist in enrollment, deployment, and repairs for all district-owned Chromebooks. The future plans for the Technology Center will be to institute a complete Student Help Desk, a work-based learning environment based on traditional technology help desk programs including a call center.