As the Clayton-Bradley Academy celebrated its first year, faculty, staff, students and their parents gathered on the last day of school for a picnic and games, and donated items for a time capsule placed in a hallway wall, set to be opened when the school has its 25th anniversary in the 1938-39 academic year. A joint effort between nonprofit Innovative Education Partnership Inc. and Clayton Homes, as MHProNews last posted May 21, 2014, the private school set sail July 19 with 75 tuition students on Clayton’s campus in Maryville, Tennessee, with the goal of becoming a full K-12 educational experience with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) curriculum, preparing students for college. According to thedailytimes.com, the school is also a community resource, part of a bigger conversation about education. Executive Director Patricia Bradley says, “Business partnerships are critical. The business community is telling us that students aren’t career-ready, and our goal is to produce students who are ready to go to college and universities and prepared for the work force. We want to make the transition as smooth as possible.” Clayton Homes is North America’s largest producer of manufactured homes. ##

(Photo credit: Sarah Herron/knoxnews.com–Patricia Bradley and Kevin Clayton seal the deal for the new school)