Kingsport City Schools passes drug testing policy
Kingsport City Schools approved a new policy requiring random drug testing for students in extracurricular activities, set to take effect next school year.
Teacher vacancies are a big challenge in Tennessee. Clarksville-Montgomery County may have found a solution.
A recent report from the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) found that school districts across Tennessee began the school year with 1,000 teaching vacancies.
EFI Charter School Report: Tennessee charter school sector ranked in middle of the pack
Tennessee ranks 14th out of 30 states included in a recent report from the Education Freedom Institute that measures the quality and accessibility of states’ public charter school systems.
Nashville’s fourth-graders slightly outpace state average for improvements in reading
Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is reporting similar reading gains as the state averages announced yesterday, for both third and fourth-graders.District fourth-graders posted a 38 percent proficiency rate on state assessments for English language arts (ELA). That’s 3.3 percent higher than last year and the growth exceeds the state’s 2.9 percent ELA improvement average.
Students of color make up the majority of public charter school students in Tennessee. Should HBCUs get involved?
A recent report by the Tennessee Charter Center found roughly 95 percent of the state's 44,000 public charter school students are students of color and supporters believe HBCUs might be be well positioned to provide a unique K-12 learning experience, especially with the important role HBCUs are already playing in educating the next generation of Black educators and professionals.
PROPEL Center and Apple host career accelerator for HBCU students
Apple and the PROPEL Center have partnered to host a career accelerator for 50 HBCU students, helping them develop creative and professional skills in the arts and entertainment industry.
Fourth-graders show reading gains on state assessments while third-graders hold steady
Tennessee's fourth-graders showed noticeable improvements in reading this year while third-graders' scores held steady.That's according to a Thursday announcement from the Tennessee Department of Education, releasing the 2024 Tennessee Comprehensive Academic Program (TCAP) English Language Arts (ELA) scores.
Metro Nashville Public Schools director optimistic about the performance of third and fourth-graders on state reading tests
Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Dr. Adrienne Battle says based on the district’s preliminary “quick scores,” she's optimistic about how third and fourth-graders performed on state reading assessments.
Memphis-Shelby County Schools personnel plan paused by school board
The Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education passed a resolution during a special meeting Tuesday asking Superintendent Marie Feagins to halt further layoffs until she can present a more detailed personnel plan.
Williamson County House candidates weigh in on education funding, book bans and DEI
Candidates running for Tennessee House District 65 discussed their views on state education funding, banning inappropriate books in K-12 schools and how they think schools approached the COVID-19 pandemic during last week’s Williamson County Republican Party primary forum.
Knox County school board fails to pass policy change banning books depicting sexual imagery
A proposal to ban books depicting sexual imagery in Knox County Schools failed in a 4-2 vote. The board discussed compliance with a new state law set to take effect in July.
Report finds Tennessee’s public charter school students showing more academic growth than traditional school peers
A new report from the Tennessee Charter School Center found public charter schools are outperforming traditional public schools on state measurements for student growth.
Vanderbilt and Oak Ridge partner on AI research and development for national security
Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have announced a new partnership focusing on artificial intelligence research to develop technologies for national security, as U.S. universities continue to invest more in machine learning research and education programming.
Elon Musk's xAI to build world's largest supercomputer in Memphis
Elon Musk’s AI company xAI is planning to build the world’s largest supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, marking the city’s largest capital investment by a new-to-market company in the city’s history, an announcement from the Greater Memphis Chamber said.According to a news release, xAI’s “Gigafactory of Compute” supercomputer system will occupy a former manufacturing facility. The project is pending approval by the Memphis Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE), Tennessee Valley Authority and other government agencies.
House district candidates weigh in on private school vouchers and property taxes
The proposal to allow Tennessee families to use public dollars to send their children to private school proved to be a topic of disagreement for three candidates running in Blount County's House District 20 Republican Primary.Jason Emert, Tom Stinnett, and Nick Bright weighed in on Governor Bill Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act, frequently referred to as vouchers, during a forum held last week by the Blount County Chamber of Commerce.
Knox County school board discusses banning books with sexual content
Knox County Board of Education officials discussed banning books that depict sex at Monday’s school board work session.
Dr. Gwin-Miller designed her proposed public charter school to help Memphis students like she was, escape the cycle of poverty
Dr. Alexis Gwin-Miller grew up in Memphis facing the same challenges that she hopes to help children overcome with the Blueprint College and Career Prep public charter school.
State Board of Education revokes three educators' licenses for sex crimes
The Tennessee Board of Education permanently revoked the educator licenses of three educators for sexual misconduct.
Biden Administration announces $12 million in EPA rebates for clean school buses in Tennessee
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing funding to eight Tennessee school districts to purchase more than 40 clean school buses to reduce their fleets’ emissions.According to a recent announcement from the EPA, the funding comes from the EPA’s 2023 Clean School Bus Program, which is part of President Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda. It said the program provides rebate funding to selectees to replace older diesel-fueled school buses, which are linked to asthma and other respiratory issues in surrounding communities.
State provides updates to teacher licensure efforts in special ed, ESL and computer science
Tennessee’s additional endorsement program has helped over 1,200 educators add qualifications in special education, ESL, and computer science, while new pathways are being developed to meet the demand for computer science teachers.