AI policies are still a work in progress for several Tennessee school districts ahead of 2024-25 school year

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.

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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.

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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.

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College and Higher Edu..., Local Education, News Brandon Paykamian College and Higher Edu..., Local Education, News Brandon Paykamian

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.

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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.

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Local Education, Nashville, News, State Education Brandon Paykamian Local Education, Nashville, News, State Education Brandon Paykamian

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Local Education, News, State Education, State Government Brandon Paykamian Local Education, News, State Education, State Government Brandon Paykamian

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.

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Local Education, News, State Education Brandon Paykamian Local Education, News, State Education Brandon Paykamian

Dekalb Schools and Graduation Alliance launch new online high school completion program

Adults in Tennessee who have not graduated from high school can now earn a high school diploma rather than a GED through a new online program recently launched at Dekalb County Schools in partnership with the online education provider Graduate Alliance.According to a recent announcement, the new Dekalb County Diploma Completion Program gives students flexibility to complete their high school requirements, as well as access to 24/7 tutoring and personalized support from teachers and academic coaches.

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