Tennessee unveils plan to move struggling schools out of its failed program to rescue them
The options could include entering new charter school agreements, closing schools, or moving some of its 9,000 students to higher-performing schools.
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.
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The options could include entering new charter school agreements, closing schools, or moving some of its 9,000 students to higher-performing 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.
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.
The Republican governor wants the newly elected 112th General Assembly to convene on Jan. 19 to look specifically at education challenges during the pandemic.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
If it passes, Tennessee’s two largest school systems would have to reopen quickly to meet that threshold.
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.
The Tennessee Alliance for Equity in Education is organized by The Education Trust, which last year opened a state office in Tennessee.
Education commissioner Penny Schwinn says the Tennessee Department of Health is recruiting schools as vaccination sites and school nurses to give the shots “wherever feasible.”
Shelby County Schools Superintendent Joris Ray has stood firm with all-remote learning, and accuses state leaders of being out of touch with the needs of Memphis students, who are mostly Black and disproportionately affected by the deadly virus.
The order keeps alive Tennessee’s quest to create an education savings account program that would provide taxpayer money to eligible families in Memphis and Nashville to pay toward private school tuition.
The policy aims to address the growing mismatch between Tennessee’s increasingly diverse student population and the educators who teach them.
After a tense exchange between two Memphis-area lawmakers, the Senate Education Committee voted 8-1 for a measure that would ensure Gov. Bill Lee could legally force Shelby County Schools to offer in-person learning.
‘We are in a crisis situation,’ said Sen. Raumesh Akbari of Memphis, who chairs the Senate Democratic caucus. A GOP spokeswoman responded that the Republican Party is proud of its record on education since taking control of the legislature in 2010.
While some states seek to cancel student testing this spring as the pandemic grinds on, Tennessee isn’t wavering in its plan to give tests in person to most of its nearly 1 million students.
The Teacher’s Discipline Act would create a uniform referral process allowing teachers to petition for removal of a student who repeatedly or substantially interferes with classroom learning.
Tennessee Public Charter School Commission recommends the state overturn five local school board decisions denying charter school applications, including two in Memphis and another linked to Hillsdale College.
As the state prepares to finally issue its first grades in November, the education department and its new leader are revamping the grading formula.