Chalkbeat Tennessee
Marta W. Aldrich is the senior statehouse correspondent at Chalkbeat Tennessee. A newswoman for The Associated Press for most of her career, Marta has covered state government, politics, business, education and other Tennessee news. She has served as news editor of United Methodist News Service and features editor of American Profile magazine. Marta is a graduate of Memphis City Schools and the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
There are 137 articles by Marta W. Aldrich :
The move wrapped up the legislature’s four-day special session on education, called by Gov. Bill Lee to address learning disruptions for students during the coronavirus pandemic, plus perennial challenges with teacher pay and literacy.
If it passes, Tennessee’s two largest school systems would have to reopen quickly to meet that threshold.
Teacher pay is one of the key issues that lawmakers are expected to take up beginning Jan. 19 during a special legislative session on education.
In addition to new summer school and tutoring programs to catch students up from learning disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Bill Lee promised a pay hike for teachers, but did not specify an amount.
The 112th Tennessee General Assembly convened on Tuesday and is gearing up for a Jan. 19 special session to focus on pandemic-related challenges for students, educators, and schools.
Victoria Robinson, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Education, said the job won’t be filled “at this time due to budget and other uncertainties.”
SCS Superintendent Joris Ray and his counterparts in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga appeared virtually for an hourlong panel discussion with members of the House Democratic Caucus ahead of this year’s legislative session.
As of Wednesday, 40% of Tennessee’s 95 counties had moved into the priority group that includes teachers. Those areas have smaller populations and fewer health care workers to inoculate after years of rural hospital closures.
Calling it an “exciting moment,” Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn on Monday unveiled Reading 360, an array of programs to train teachers on reading instruction and provide resources to school districts.
They’ll be able to get their shots during the same phase as Tennesseans ages 75 and above — and before those in the 65-74 age bracket.
The Republican governor wants the newly elected 112th General Assembly to convene on Jan. 19 to look specifically at education challenges during the pandemic.
Gov. Bill Lee declared Pfizer’s vaccine “safe” as Tennessee gave its first doses to health care workers while recording some of the nation’s highest rates of virus spread. The Republican governor reiterated that the shots will be optional for people in public schools.
Rep. Scott Cepicky’s bill would stabilize state funding in the 2021-22 school year at this year’s levels, even though a statewide decline in student enrollment this fall would normally decrease the allocation by at least $320 million.
The options could include entering new charter school agreements, closing schools, or moving some of its 9,000 students to higher-performing schools.
School and child care staff are slated to be part of the second — and largest — phase for immunizing Tennesseans in the state’s four-phase distribution plan.
Metro Nashville and Shelby County challenged the law because it applies only to their communities without giving their local governments or voters a say.
The dips, while small, keep Tennessee on a downward trajectory after six years of slow but steady growth on the college entrance exam.
The legislature gave the state education department until Jan. 1 to come up with its blueprint for 27 schools and about 8,000 students to leave the Achievement School District and return to their local systems in Memphis and Nashville.
Tennessee Education Association President Beth Brown urged the governor this week to set firm guidance on when school buildings should close due to infection rates and ensure that all students and staff wear face coverings for those that remain open.
Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn believes some families opted to home-school their children, and others enrolled their kids in private schools, especially in Memphis and Nashville. But the biggest decline was in kindergarten enrollment.
The Tennessee State Board of Education has given initial approval to proposed revisions that increase coursework in basic statistics, including understanding and using data.
Most notably missing is student achievement and growth information, even from years when standardized testing occurred.
In one of the legislature’s most high-profile races, Jerri Green is considered a serious challenger to Republican Rep. Mark White, chairman of the House Education Committee. They are polar opposites on the issue of vouchers.
The state is expected to get 133,000 of the new COVID tests — which deliver results in minutes, not days — in early October, and 2 million by the end of the year.