KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The first week of March will be a busy one for the Knox County School System.

It kicked off Monday morning with the first day of meetings for the newly formed Safety Review Committee. The 16 member panel will meet at times over 48 hours in an effort to review, analyze and assess Knox County’s school security protocols and human resource procedures.

School officials didn’t want to talk about the committee on Monday evening. They were eager to discuss a new initiative to keep students in school.

Knox County is talking with the Simon Youth Foundation about creating an Educational Resource Center in the Knoxville Center Mall.

Knox County Schools Superintendent James McIntyre wrote in a memo that the foundation had approached the school system about established an ERC at the mall some time ago. Both sides recently started talking again and in February, Knox County submitted a “pre-application” to join the program in February.

Simon ERCs are alternative schools, meant to provide at-risk youth the opportunity to earn their high school diploma in a non-traditional environment. It is designed for students who are on track to graduating but simply aren’t succeeding at their normal high school.

"So many of these kids who were afraid they would never graduate from high school, more than 60 percent go on to some form of education beyond grade 12,” said Dr. Richard Markhoff, with the Simon Youth Foundation, “and 40 percent go on to jobs, apprenticeships in the military."

There are currently 25 ERC’s inside malls around the nation. They allow students to receive job and life skills training. Each student is allowed to set the pace of their own education and receive a diploma at graduation from the public school district.

"This gives them an opportunity to do it in a non-traditional setting, to earn their diplomas, to learn and learn effectively,” said Dr. McIntyre.

The nearest ERC is at Opry Mills Mall in Nashville. It opened last year and already has graduated 53 students.

Under the plan, the school would be located in two currently vacant retail spaces with direct access to the parking lot. The units would take up 6,400 square feet of space near the Knoxville Police Department and provide room for five classrooms, an independent study area, conference room and teacher offices.

The foundation would pay for the space though the schools would have to spend about $75,000 converting it for learning. The schools would also pay utilities at a discount rate.

McIntyre’s memo said the school board must still approve the funds and project. It will be placed on the agenda at the school board’s April meeting. If approved, classes could start up as soon as August 2010.