Since the early days in Kingsport-TN, Eastman Chemical Company has been a strong supporter of public K-12 education – contributing funds, in-kind goods/services and volunteer resources. As the site grew, so did its outreach efforts. However, these initiatives were fragmented with various groups and individual volunteers sponsoring, funding and coordinating a plethora of activities. These funding sources were often in addition to corporate contributions.

In the early 1990’s, Eastman realized the need to consolidate and formalize its outreach programs to the local schools as a way to improve the efficiency of services provided, to facilitate dialog and sharing among the various school systems, and to maximize the value of outreach programs in terms of public relations benefit and effectiveness in driving improvement. This effort culminated in the creation of the Education Initiatives department, now known as Workforce Development, and the launch of the Putting Children First business/education partnership within four school systems – Hawkins County, Kingsport City, Sullivan County, TN and Scott County, VA. In the next decade, Rogersville City, Johnson City, Washington County and Bristol Tennessee City school systems were added for a total representation of eight school systems and 104 schools.

Through Putting Children First, Eastman achieved a clearer focus on its education initiatives to a large extent and received local, state and national recognition for implementing several innovative programs.

The Philosophy Behind PCF

All citizens are stakeholders in the education system. If our communities are to flourish, we must be able to attract and maintain sound businesses and good employees. Business and industry depend on a well-educated work force. It’s important that they communicate their needs to educators. School systems can use this kind of information to prepare and guide students toward what they want to be, while also giving them the skills needed to be successful throughout their adult lives. When business and education discover they need each other, remarkable progress can occur. That’s the basis of Eastman’s partnership model and the premise from which Putting Children First evolved.