For the past 5 years UCHS has been on a journey to develop a Resilient School Model. This process in our school has been undertaken to train individuals to help students deal with Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) they have encountered in their lives. Our school also strives to better equip students to deal with challenges they face in their lives through Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs).
Resilience can be defined as: “the capacity of a dynamic system to adapt successfully to challenges that threaten the function, survival, or future development of the system” - Ann Masten. Through this approach to student development we have leaned on our 4 core values as a school: Pride, Passion, Purpose, Perseverance. We are excited to share that Unicoi County High School received the East Tennessee State University 2025 Resilient School Distinction Award. This prestigious recognition honors schools that exemplify commitment to excellence, innovation, and integrity to advance resilient practices. Awarded to schools that inspire through action and lead with purpose, the Resilient School Distinction Award celebrates how our school team cultivated environments of hope, courage, and champion student success.
In order to further our development as a school, UCHS would like to extend this concept of a resilient school to our parents. To accomplish this goal UCHS will be creating a Parent Resilience Team for spring 2026. This team would consist of current UCHS parents who wish to learn more about the resilient school process and how it can positively impact their children. Our hope is to share what we have learned, how we go about using this model to help students, and provide support for parents to take the Resilient School process into their own homes. We will focus on showing parents how we work with students in a supportive manner taking into account any ACEs that may be present in their lives.
If you would like to be a part of this team and learn more about how we and you can support your child please contact Chris Bogart via email at bogartc@unicoischools.com
The Parent Resilience Team will meet twice during the spring semester to share and learn about the Resilient School Model.