EAST TENNESSEE NEWS
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BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee teamed up with East Tennessee State University in 2021 to create an accelerated learning program for students to earn a bachelor’s degree in computing and job offer at BlueCross in just two years.
University of Tennessee ecology and evolutionary biology professor Nina Fefferman was recently awarded $18 million from the U.S. National Science Foundation to study how infectious diseases can spread to cause an epidemic or pandemic rather than dying out.
Members of the Tennessee Republican State Primary Board resoundingly rejected Representative John Ragan’s, R-Oak Ridge, challenge of the August primary he lost to Former Clinton Police Chief Rick Scarbrough.
Knox County Schools Assistant Superintendent of Student Success Dr. Andrew Brown gave an update on special education related matters at Tuesday's school board work session.
Members of the Tennessee Republican State Primary Board will decide State Representative John Ragan’s, R-Oak Ridge, primary loss challenge Saturday afternoon in Mount Juliet.
Tennessee Republican Party Chair Scott Golden and the board scheduled a hearing for the challenge 2:30 P.M. September 7 at the Mount Juliet Hilton Garden Inn.
Teacher of the year Bryan Kerns established a unique career and technical education (CTE) program geared toward preparing students for future careers in fire management.
Bryan Kerns, a math and fire management instructor from Kingsport City Schools, has been named the 2024-25 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. Kerns will represent Tennessee in the National Teacher of the Year competition.
Scarbrough beat seven term Representative John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, by 258 votes in the House District 33 GOP primary. At the time there were no complaints of voter irregularities, but Scarbrough says he expects his former opponent to contest the win anyway.
The public charter school operator Prep Public Schools is looking to replicate the success of Chattanooga Preparatory School with another all-boys charter school that just opened its doors for its first school year last Thursday.
Today voters across the state will decide the primary races for 16 State Senate seats along with all 99 State House seats. Very few of these seats are expected to be highly competitive in the November general election, so tonight’s primaries will have a big impact on the General Assembly that returns to Nashville next year.
Video recorded by one of Senator Jon Lundberg’s, D-Bristol, campaign volunteers has led to misdemeanor theft and vandalism charges against the father of his opponent.
This year Representative John Ragan’s, R-Oak Ridge, has attracted headlines for proposing multiple bills dealing with hot button social issues that his own party rejected. Now he's facing a strong challenge to keep his House district 33 seat in East Tennessee from a challenger who’s focusing his campaign on local concerns like jobs, safety, and schools.
All students in Kingsport City Schools (KCS) will be eligible to receive meals at no charge, regardless of socioeconomic status, beginning August 5, a recent district announcement said.
One of the more closely watched races this summer is East Tennessee’s House District 33 GOP primary between John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, and former Clinton police chief and current University of Tennessee Law Enforcement Innovation Center Executive Director Rick Scarbrough.
East Tennessee House candidate Jason Emert has a very personal reason for supporting Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice plan to let families use public dollars to send their children to private school.
Few issues have united Tennessee Democrats more this year their opposition to Governor Bill Lee’s plan to let families across the state use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school. That opposition now has company in East Tennessee from across the aisle.
Tennessee school districts are finalizing their AI policies ahead of the 2024-25 school year as they navigate new legislation requiring guidelines on AI use in classrooms.
Kingsport City Schools approved a new policy requiring random drug testing for students in extracurricular activities, set to take effect next school year.
The University of Tennessee in Knoxville will soon welcome its newest class of Distinguished Tennessean Scholars this fall.
In April Tennessee Governor Bill Lee promised to bring his plan to let parents use taxpayer dollars to send their children to private school back next year, and this week he’s taking a new step to help it pass.The governor announced his endorsement of Blount County attorney Jason Emert in the House District 20 race. Emert is facing county commissioners Tom Stinnett and Nick Bright in the August Republican primary.
Allegations State Senate Candidate Bobby Harshbarger broke campaign laws to attack his opponent, Tennessee Senator Jon Lundberg, R-Briston, is going to the State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office for investigation.Senate Caucus Chair Ken Yager, R-Kingston, filed the complaint against the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC questioning whether the group’s connections to Harshbarger violated ethics and registry requirements. The PAC has recently sent misleading text messages attacking Lundberg to voters in East Tennessee.
The Tennessee Department of Education awarded STEM/STEAM designations to 13 new schools, while Kingsport's D-B EXCEL earned redesignation for its program's continued excellence.
The Jackson-Madison County School System Board of Education celebrated four schools that participated in the Greenpower USA Regional Talladega Competition that took place earlier this month placing in the top five, with one school winning overall.
Tennessee is not expected to have many truly competitive races in the August 1 state primary, but one that will be is already seeing misleading campaigning and a formal complaint of “skirting” campaign finance limits.That race involves Senate Education Chair Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, and his Senate District 4 Republican challenger Bobby Harshbarger, East Tennessee pharmacist and son of Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger, R-Tennessee.Harshbarger has attempted to run to the right of Lundberg and is misleadingly criticizing the Senator for the failure of legislation to ban pride flags from Tennessee classrooms.
Missy Testerman has enjoyed a teaching career that is decades longer than most, spending more than 30 years in first- and second-grade classrooms.But when she saw that her K-8 school district in rural Appalachia was quietly becoming a refuge for families from Mexico, Central America and Asia, she shifted gears and became an English as a second language teacher, pushing to smooth her students’ — and their families’ — transition to life in the U.S.
Mental health is a growing concern for children across the country and a new report shows Tennessee is no exception.Earlier this month the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), NashvilleHealth, and the Belmont Data Collaborative joined together to release a report called “Connecting the Dots: Mental Health and Student Success in Tennessee” that explores the mental health challenges facing Tennessee youth.
For the first time in 35 years, a Tennessee teacher is the National Teacher of the Year.The Council of Chief State School Officers awarded Rogersville City Schools K-8 English as a second language (ESL) teacher Missy Testerman the honor, recognizing her dedication to students and community. She’ll spend the next year serving as an ambassador and advocate for teachers and students across the nation.
Hamilton County Schools became the latest in a growing number of Tennessee school districts that are joining a national lawsuit against social media companies for allegedly targeting students.School board members unanimously voted Thursday night to join the suit against social media giants including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube.The lawsuit argues these companies are deliberately targeting students and young people for commercial gain and fostering antisocial behavior through things such as insufficient parental controls and the way platforms are designed to expose children to harmful content.