The dangers were real. Since 2016, five students have been struck along this stretch of road, making it clear the risks were too serious to ignore. “Almost 50% of my students have to walk to and from school every day, and some of those routes are really treacherous,” said Whittle Springs Middle School Principal Kathleen Turnmire. “Accessibility means they don’t have a reason not to come to school. They have a safe way to get there.”
Whittle Springs is one of 16 United Way of Greater Knoxville Community Schools. Each school has an embedded Community Schools site coordinator who works with families, staff, and partners to identify barriers to student success and bring the right people together to address them. Safety along White Oak Lane was one of those barriers.
Working with Principal Turnmire, school staff, and the school’s Site Steering Committee, the site coordinator made sure the issue stayed visible and was treated as a shared responsibility, not just the school’s concern, because the lacking walkability also impacted the surrounding neighborhood.
Momentum grew when the site coordinator partnered with Bike Walk Knoxville to organize a “Walking with Elected Officials” event. City and county leaders, Safe Routes to School, the Knox County Health Department,Knoxville Area Transit (KAT), families, and community members were invited to walk the route together. Experiencing the conditions firsthand helped turn concern into action.
“United Way Community Schools got involved from the very beginning in learning that this was something that needed to take place,” said Adam Fritts, Community Schools Director at the United Way of Greater Knoxville. “Those needs assessments and asking stakeholders what they desired in their community really was a catalyst for elevating this, both from a position of advocating for it and making sure others were aware it was a need.”
While families, school leaders, and public agencies all agreed the route was unsafe, no funding had yet been identified to fix it. As part of the Community Schools model, to connect schools with resources, the site coordinator wrote and submitted a grant that secured $80,000 through Tennessee’s Healthy Built Environment program, in partnership with the Knox County Health Department. Additional funding from Legacy Parks Foundation brought the project to fruition.
According to Kinsey Simmerman, Physical Activity Public Health Educator at the Knox County Health Department, the project aligned with their mission. “Walking safely should be something everyone is able to do in their city, and we want to make the healthy choice the easy choice,” Kinsey said.
Today, a new ADA-accessible, paved, and illuminated walking path offers students and neighbors a safer way to get to and from school. By connecting Whittle Springs Middle School to the Whittle Springs Golf Course parking lot, the pathway allows walkers to avoid one of the most dangerous sections of roadway.
More than a new path, the project reflects the United Way Community Schools approach to identifying issues, aligning partners, and securing the resources to address them. It is a clear example of how on-site coordinators help move local concerns into real, lasting solutions that improve safety, access, and opportunity for students and the surrounding community.
To learn about UWGK Community Schools and the role of UWGK coordinators, go to https://uwgk.org/schools/
