Stepping into Carol Rouse’s classroom at Morristown-Hamblen High School East makes it easier to comprehend how she endured every parent’s worst fear – losing her daughter Haley to an automobile accident three years ago.

Haley Rouse, a beloved first-grade teacher at Hillcrest Elementary, was just 28 years old.

“Right here. This is what keeps me going,” Rouse says, pointing to the desk her senior class students painted and presented as a surprise gift before graduation last spring. “East High has been my saving grace. And HCEA. I like helping teachers.”

As President of Hamblen Co. Education Association and a veteran educator, Rouse is famous for her boundless desire to help every student and person in need she encounters.

“I teach everyone,” Rouse says. “The state of Tennessee requires high school students to take one elective fine arts course. A lot of kids don’t play instruments, and they don’t want to sing, and acting is something they’re not exposed to in theater. So art seems to be popular.”

Her classroom is a melting pot of learning levels, life experiences, and needs.

“I have my learning IEP students,” Rouse says. “I have a lot of non-English speaking students. And then I have regular ed students. And they’re all different grade levels. But when they come in here, they’re not at different grade levels to me because they’ve not had the experience of art. So I teach them all the same.”

Rouse’s passion for art education is deeply personal. Growing up in Hamblen County, she didn’t have access to elementary art classes.

Her journey into art was shaped by the teachers who saw her potential and nurtured it. Rouse’s mother, who taught special education in the county for 32 years, also played a pivotal role and inspired her to choose a path in public education.

“They saw that I had a love for art and they encouraged me, so I try to do the same thing. I feel like I’ve got to give back,” Rouse says.

She started a food pantry in her classroom 20 years ago that now looks like a mini-grocery store.

“I have homeless students, students who move from one family to the next, or they live in a car, and now we have a lot of students whose parents have been sent back to Mexico, Guatemala or Venezuela,” Rouse says. “It’s a crisis, it’s so sad. So all this food you see has been donated by businesses and churches.”

The pantry also stocks personal hygiene products and provides a laundry service. Every student is eligible to join the Nutritional Advisory Council, helping keep the pantry stocked and organized.

“My daughter, Haley Rouse, started the same thing I did. She’d come over, get food and take it to her kids at Hillcrest Elementary,” Rouse says. “She was a legend. I said, ‘Haley, don’t spend all your check on your kids.’ And she said, ‘Mama, you do it all the time.’”

Also known for her warmth, dedication, and love for her students, Haley Rouse started a bicycle donation program for students in low-income housing. When some of those bikes were stolen, she organized a drive to provide bike locks. Haley’s legacy also lives on in memorials like “buddy benches” at Hillcrest, designed to ensure no child ever feels alone.

While grief seemed overwhelming at times, Rouse found solace in her work, supporting Hamblen Co. educators, caring for her students, and helping advance art education in Hamblen County.

“When I was accepted at UT, I remember looking around at all these other freshmen from Knox County and other counties, thinking, why is their drawing so much more advanced? Well, they’ve had art since kindergarten. So it makes a difference. But anyhow, I did it and I made it. I didn’t give up. I had some good art professors, too.”

That perseverance has defined her career. For over 30 years, Rouse has fought to bring visual arts to Hamblen County’s elementary schools.

Her advocacy recently led to a breakthrough. Through HC Excel, a local initiative funded by over 300 industries in the county, Hamblen County was able to hire a part-time, floating elementary art teacher.

It’s a small but meaningful step toward equity in arts education. Rouse knows firsthand how early exposure to art can shape a child’s future.

“I was fortunate,” she says. “But not every kid gets that chance.”

Rouse’s spirit of service and collaboration is shared by Hamblen County Schools Superintendent Arnie Bunch, who came to lead the district after retiring as a four-star general in the U.S. Air Force. With 38 years of military service, including commanding the Air Force Materiel Command, Bunch brought a leadership philosophy rooted in transparency, teamwork, and trust.

“I just think when issues come up, it’s important to talk straightforward, have the dialogue,” Bunch said. “It’s that willingness to have a frank, open dialogue where you trust each other to be able to [move forward].”

Bunch credits leaders like Carol Rouse for helping build that trust.

“Carol’s great,” he says. “Carol’s come over to me on a couple of different occasions, and we’ve talked about a variety of different things. They’re key to what we do with our sick leave bank. They’re right there on the team, helping us set that up and make sure we’re taking care of our folks.”

Bunch’s approach to leadership emphasizes what he calls “teaming,” and he’s used it to let lawmakers in Nashville know what works and what needs to change in Tennessee public schools.

Take, for instance, the Hamblen Co. policy on personal communication devices.

“When I first got here, I had a few teachers say we need them out of the classroom. And we were one of the first to implement this policy,” Bunch says.

Together, Rouse and Bunch represent a new era of cooperation in Hamblen County Schools. Focused on listening, supporting educators, and building a stronger district based on mutual respect and trust, they are ready to tackle educator shortages, behavioral issues in classrooms, and the growing needs of English language learners.

“We have a very large English as a second language population,” Bunch says. “Twenty percent of our students are not fluent in English language,” Bunch said. “That comes with some unique opportunities. When we say all students can learn, how do we make sure that all includes them?”

If you ask Carol Rouse, “love and care” is always the answer. 

Learn more about TEA members and the roles they play in their communities at TNEA.org/MyTEA.