Is This Free College Program a Model for the Nation?
Tennessee Promise has boosted enrollment but dropout rates remain high.
Elizabeth Lindamood’s Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are for Food City, the supermarket in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where she manages cashiers and baggers and assists customers. The rest of the week is for classes at a campus of Roane State Community College 2 miles away, where the 18-year-old is studying to become an elementary school teacher—plus a couple more Food City shifts.
Lindamood’s tuition is paid by the state’s Tennessee Promise program, but constant pressure and late nights have made her consider quitting more than once. “There’s been quite a few times where I’ve just been sitting there with my boyfriend and I just break out in tears,” she says. “I’m just so stressed. I don’t know what to do.”