As we celebrate the arts in our schools this month, we hear from a few voices from one community partnership for youth and the arts here in Chattanooga and Hamilton County.

Integrating the arts into early learning involves a collaborative choreography among educators. Kelly Shimel is the fine arts coordinator for Hamilton County Schools - and Jesse Goins is the principal of Battle Academy, the magnet school in Southside Chattanooga.

From our campus to your screen, the Arts-Based Collaborative here at UTC - abc@utc - works with teaching artists in the Chattanooga area to create educational content for children. One example is “Raise Your Hand” - the flagship program of the EDUCATE channel from our public media partner WTCI PBS.

Trust is key for social workers - and the people they are trying to help. For students who pursue a career in social work, how do they learn to establish and maintain trust? One answer you’ll find here on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Jennifer Lynberg knows about teaching prospective teachers how to teach. She is an assistant professor in the School of Education on our campus, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and she has worked with UTC’s Arts-Based Collaborative - or abc@utc.

Michael “Arche” Twitty is a storyteller who found his voice in poetry. A Chattanooga native, Arche is a poet, playwright, actor and educator who helps others to discover - and cultivate - their own voices.

Jason Tinney plays many roles - on and off stage. An author, actor, musician and storyteller, he is assistant theatre director at the McCallie School here in Chattanooga - and a simulated patient actor and scriptwriter for the Arts-Based Collaborative here at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, in partnership with the UTC School of Nursing.

On our campus - the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga - Irene Hillman is director of student success at the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Her work with students, faculty and community partners includes the Arts Based Collaborative here at UTC, abc@utc.

(aired Thu 12/09/21) One thing that art and medicine have in common: collaboration. Dr. Mukta Panda is a professor of medicine - and Assistant Dean for Wellbeing and Medical Student Education - at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine.

Each year, the Challenger STEM Learning Center here on our UTC campus serves thousands of students and hundreds of teachers in Tennessee, Georgia,…