University of Tennessee system will set up ‘search committees’ for new chancellors at UT-Chattanooga and UT-Southern

The University of Tennessee system will proceed with an external search to fill anticipated vacancies in the chancellor positions at UT Chattanooga and UT Southern, according to University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd.

Read More
News, Local Education, Middle Tennessee Brandon Paykamian News, Local Education, Middle Tennessee Brandon Paykamian

“A Clockwork Orange”among 150 books Rutherford County Schools has pulled from the shelves

The ongoing debate about book bans in Rutherford County Schools dominated much of the discussion at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, after district librarians said they recently received an email instructing them to pull 150 sexually explicit books from school library shelves.

Read More

Status quo wins in every closely watched House race

Going into Tuesday night’s general election, Tennessee Democrats had high hopes of whittling into the Republican supermajority by winning a handful of House seats that are currently held by Republicans.  On the flipside, GOP leaders targeted growing their supermajority by flipping three Middle Tennessee seats currently held by Democrats.

Neither came to fruition, but one came close.

Read More
Local Education, Middle Tennessee Sky Arnold Local Education, Middle Tennessee Sky Arnold

Sumner County Schools tells parents there will be “zero tolerance” for school threats

Sumner County Schools is the latest district taking extra measures to warn parents about the growing problem of school threats in Tennessee.

The district recently sent parents a letter signed by Superintendent Scott Langford, Juvenile Court Judge David Howard, Sheriff Eric Craddock, and District Attorney General Lawrence Whitley that outlines the punishment for making threats of mass violence at schools and school-related activities.

Read More

Three proposed public charter schools in Nashville receive positive recommendation for approval

Supporters of three proposed new public charter schools in Nashville are receiving support from the Executive Director of the state board tasked with deciding their future. Tennessee Public Charter School Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall released written recommendations this week supporting the appeals from Nurses Middle College, LEAD Southeast Elementary, and Encompass Community School.

Read More

Six Tennessee schools recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools

The U.S. Department of Education has named six Tennessee schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools this year including Miller Perry Elementary School in Kingsport, Glenwood Elementary School in Oak Ridge, Early College High School in Nashville, Merrol Hyde Magnet School in Hendersonville, Spanish Immersion at Barksdale in Clarksville, and Jordan Elementary School in Brentwood.

Read More
News, Local Education, Middle Tennessee Brandon Paykamian News, Local Education, Middle Tennessee Brandon Paykamian

Rutherford County Schools leaders vote to remove six books from district schools

The Rutherford County Schools Board of Education voted to remove six literary classics from school libraries at Thursday’s regular school board meeting including “Beloved,” A Pulitzer-Prize winning novel from Toni Morrison about the horrors of slavery, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” a coming-of-age novel by Stephen Chbosky, and “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, a novel which retells the “Wizard of Oz.” In addition, the board also banned “Homegoing” by Yaa Gyasi, “Queen of Shadows” by Sara J. Maas, and “Tower of Dawn, also by Sara J. Maas.

Read More