• Name: Bushtown is part of the 3East Tomorrow revitalization encompassing Bushtown, Glenwood and Orchard Knob.

• Location: The Bush-town neighborhood is northeast of Holtzclaw Avenue and East Third Street. The development is tucked behind Orchard Knob Middle School, and students also may attend Orchard Knob Elementary and Howard High, in addition to various magnet schools. + More

• Status: Fourteen new homes have been built in the neighborhood, three are sold and the rest are available. The neighborhood was redeveloped as part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

• Price: New homes range from $125,000 to $135,000 for three-bedroom, two-bath dwellings encompassing 1,275 to 1,475 square feet. Buyers who plan to occupy the homes themselves and who make an average of less than $53,000 may qualify for incentives of up to $15,000, officials say.

• Features: Homes are certified by the city's "better built" green standard, which means they are constructed using energy-efficient materials and methods. Hardie siding, oak or bamboo floors and stainless Energy Star appliances come with each home. All have front porches, and most feature detailed crown molding, ceiling fans and tiled showers. Some are wired for security systems. Bedrooms are carpeted, and kitchens feature either hardwood or tile floors.

• Amenities: Nearly all homes have rear vehicle access, or front vehicle access with two parking spaces in the rear. The neighborhood is five minutes from downtown and is a few blocks walking distance from Warner Park.

• Developers: Bushtown's revitalization effort was spearheaded by Community Impact of Chattanooaga.

• Builders: Adamson Developers and Steve Birger Construction built most of the homes.

• Contact: Community Impact at 423-756-0763, ext. 25, or www.3easttomorrow.com.

Compiled by staff writer Ellis Smith, esmith@times freepress.com, or 423-757-6315 - Less

The nonprofit organization that has helped revitalize several Chattanooga neighborhoods, at least doubling property values in some, will spend the next year researching how it should move forward.

We have a year to focus on where do we go from here," said BettyeLynn Smith, executive director of Community Impact. "Do we need to say job well done and go home? This is something we don't know until we've done all the research." + More

Community Impact's funding ended at the end of 2010 after it spent millions to improve seven inner-city neighborhoods.

A graduation ceremony for Churchville, Glenwood and Orchard Knob, the latest neighborhoods that Community Impact assisted, is scheduled for Feb. 10.

The board and staff are raising funds for the transition year, she said. The group will meet with other neighborhood improvement organizations in April to determine how Community Impact should continue.

"Because of Community Impact's intervention, nearly a dozen apartments that attracted negative people and activity to our neighborhood were torn down," said Tara Hewlett, president of the Churchville Neighborhood Association. "Community Impact helped the neighborhood association to be more cohesive and active."

Areas once known for blight and crime are now showcased as models on how residents can work together to renew their communities, Hewlett said.

Community Impact started about 1999, when community leaders and elected officials began discussing how downtown revitalization could spread into other neighborhoods, said Sally Robinson, who was a City Council member at the time.

Most neighborhood programs were focused on eliminating crime, protecting property values or eliminating blight. Community Impact was meant to transform neighborhoods by doing all three and more.

The initial staff worked for the Lyndhurst Foundation, Smith recalled.

Southside Historic District, Highland Park, Bushtown and M.L. King were the first neighborhoods targeted by Community Impact.

Westside was also named, but dropped out because local leaders said they had their own plan for revitalization, Smith said.

Property values in many neighborhoods helped by Community Impact have risen significantly.

Some properties in the M.L. King Neighborhood sold for less than $20,000 in the 1980s, said Moses Freeman, former M.L. King Neighborhood Association president. But in 2010 some new houses sold for between $125,000 and $300,000, he said.

Property values in Bushtown increased from an average of $50,000 in 2000 to about $80,300 in 2010, according to according to Community Impact, while values in Highland Park increased from about $36,550 in 2000 to as much as $200,000 in 2010.

"I think we've done some good work," Smith said.

Community Impact is taking this year to reflect on its work over the past 11 years and to partner with the city of Chattanooga to determine the future direction for neighborhood revitalization in the city, Smith said.

"We're taking a year off from direct interventions in the neighborhood," Smith said. "We will continue to work finding ways to positively transform our neighborhoods."

If you go

* What: Community Impact graduation for Churchville, Glenwood and Orchard Knob

* When: 5 p.m. Feb. 10

* Where: The Chattanoogan

* There is no admission but those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP by calling 756-0763 ext. 25 by Feb. 3. - Less

The Southeast Environmental Law Center is preparing to open an office in Tennessee. To read the entire article click here + More

Editor's Note: In Subject Matters, we reveal the struggles faced by educators who teach subjects such as science, math, English and history, and the solutions they've found. In previous Subject Matters stories, teachers discussed their concerns about science and language arts education.

(CNN) -- Whether it's following hockey statistics or calculating the national debt, our daily lives add up to a lot of math. But try explaining that to a room filled with middle schoolers. + More

Jennifer Lawson, a sixth-grade math teacher at Hillside Middle School in Northville, Michigan, said many of her students believe that with today's technology, they will never need math.

"You give me a situation where you will never use math," Lawson said, "and I'll give you 10 ways that you will."

Regardless of whether students believe they'll use math, it remains a main subject of evaluation under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Here are some of the challenges that math teachers face in their classrooms:

For more information click here.

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