Like many school districts across the country, Elizabethton City Schools entered the 2020/2021 school year with a new hybrid schedule that allowed students to split time learning remotely and in the classroom.The schedule was designed to address COVID-19 concerns and for elementary school students, it meant virtual learning every Wednesday.Dr. Tammy Markland says teachers at her Westside Elementary School quickly noticed challenges.

There had been a previous state championship, and some national acclaim.Yet as Tennessee High School’s legendary squad entered the 1972 football season, the Vikings’ players approached their gauntlet with a twofold mindset: Play for the man on each side of you and “show them we can play a little football up here in Bristol.”Mission accomplished, in a superlative standard that has stood the test of time five decades henceforth.

Tennessee is celebrating six school districts for their work to accelerate student learning following the pandemic.The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) is recognizing Elizabethton City Schools, Cocke County Schools, Union County Schools, Germantown Municipal Schools, Lenoir City Schools, and Cheatham County Schools for their use of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding and their efforts towards student achievement with the TN ALL Corps program.

A new report from Beacon Center of Tennessee shows that school districts throughout Tennessee received a total of nearly $3.5 billion sent directly to districts in COVID-19 recovery funding.That funding, however, was then used by districts for items such as mattress pads, instant pots, toaster ovens, Apple pens, security cameras, sound systems, and sending teachers to a conference in Baltimore. The funds were part of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, or ESSER, which has had three phases of funding.