K-12 HEALTH Initiative Partners
Our K-12 partners serve as the starting point for a connected healthcare career pathway, introducing students early to health-focused academics, career exploration, and hands-on experiences that build awareness of future opportunities. Through dual enrollment, industry mentorship, work-based learning, and exposure to healthcare environments, students begin developing foundational knowledge while envisioning pathways that extend into community college, university programs, and clinical careers. This collaborative model expands access for rural and regional students, helping ensure that future healthcare professionals are identified, supported, and prepared from the earliest stages of their educational journey.
K-12 Partner Schools
Knox County Schools
Knox County Schools serves as a key consulting partner supporting the development and implementation of Health Academies within Claiborne County Schools and Roane County Schools. Drawing on its experience designing and operating healthcare-focused career pathways, Knox County Schools provides guidance on curriculum development, program structure, industry alignment, and work-based learning models to help establish scalable, sustainable health-focused academies. Through this collaborative role, Knox County Schools helps strengthen regional alignment across districts while expanding access to healthcare career exploration for students in rural communities.
Roane County Schools
Roane County Schools serves roughly 6,000 students across a network of elementary, middle, and high schools in Roane County, Tennessee. The district emphasizes career pathways, dual enrollment, and workforce-aligned programs that connect students with regional education and healthcare partners.
Claiborne County Schools
Claiborne County Schools serves approximately 3,000 students across multiple elementary, middle, and high schools in a rural East Tennessee district. The system offers career and technical education programs, including healthcare-focused pathways, dual enrollment opportunities, and partnerships designed to support college and workforce readiness.
Leadership
Cindy Lockett
CTE Director/RVCA Principal,
Roane County Schools
Cindy Lockett serves as the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director for Roane County Schools in East Tennessee. She is deeply committed to advancing career development by building strong pipelines between K–12 education, postsecondary institutions, and regional industries. Her work emphasizes seamless transitions from middle school to high school CTE pathways and expanded access to early postsecondary opportunities, including nationally recognized industry credentials, work-based learning experiences, and postsecondary enrollment.
Under her leadership, Roane County Schools has launched and expanded K–12 CTE programming through strategic partnerships with industry and higher education, creating clear pathways to employment and lifelong learning for students.
Lockett believes all students deserve equitable access to high-quality education aligned with their college and career goals, free from barriers that limit opportunity or skill advancement
Danny Satterfield
CTE Director,
Claiborne County Schools
Danny Satterfield serves as the CTE Director/Secondary Supervisor in Claiborne County Schools where he leverages his experience to enhance career and technical education programs and opportunities for Middle and High School students of Claiborne County.
His leadership is defined by a commitment to student readiness, overseeing the integration of industry-recognized certifications and dual enrollment opportunities into the curriculum. By advocating for modern technology in the classroom and securing vital state and federal grant funding, Danny empowers students to transition seamlessly from the classroom to high-demand careers, fostering a stronger economic future for both the students and the Claiborne County community.
His work focuses on bridging the gap between traditional academic standards and practical, real-world skill sets. By cultivating strategic partnerships with local industry leaders, Satterfield ensures that the district’s Programs of Study align with the evolving demands of the regional workforce.
Shannon Jackson
Executive Director of College and Career,
Knox County Schools
Shannon Jackson serves as the Executive Director of College and Career Readiness for Knox County Schools, where she leads initiatives that connect secondary education with postsecondary opportunities and workforce pathways. In this role, she oversees school counseling, career and technical education, and advanced academic programming under the district’s 865 Academies model, an innovative high school framework
designed to connect students with community partners and real-world experiences as they prepare to enroll, enlist, or enter the workforce after graduation.
Jackson has dedicated nearly three decades to education in Tennessee. Prior to her current role, she served as Secondary Reading and English/Language Arts Supervisor for Knox County Schools, supporting instructional strategy and literacy development across the district. She also spent more than fourteen years as an English teacher at West High School, where she worked directly with students to build critical thinking, writing, and communication skills. Earlier in her career, she taught English Language Learners at Hillsboro High School in Metro Nashville Public Schools.
She holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Tennessee through the College Scholars Program, focusing on English, Russian, and Education.
Through her leadership, Jackson continues to advance innovative approaches that align K–12 education with higher education and workforce needs, helping ensure that students graduate with the skills, experiences, and pathways necessary to thrive in college, career, and life