East Tennessee, Elections Sky Arnold East Tennessee, Elections Sky Arnold

Senate Education Chair faces misleading attack ads in GOP primary race supporters say “skirt” campaign rules

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.

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Who You Know: Social Capital is Key for First-Gen Students’ Career Success

A growing New York nonprofit is using a newly released report to cement data around the axiom that social capital — or who you know — is key for first-generation college graduates searching for their first job.The report by Basta, an organization that connects first-generation college graduates with careers, tracks the experiences of young job seekers, revealing that not all networks are the same. 

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Local Education, Memphis Reana Gibson Local Education, Memphis Reana Gibson

Memphis-Shelby County School Board denies request from Wooddale Middle School to transition into the district

Ben Frazier says traditional public schools have failed his autistic son.Frazier told members of the Memphis Shelby County School Board last week that his family has faced a lack of communication and accommodation at district-run schools, but everything changed when he enrolled his son at Wooddale Middle School.“When I got my child to Wooddale, everything changed. Wooddale is a family-oriented school. They take care of the kids,” said Frazier. “It’s a neighborhood school, they deal with the community. The staff keeps the parents informed, everything that I was not getting when he was not at Green Dot Schools, I’m getting now. My son is excelling, he came out of his shell, you can’t even tell that my son is on the spectrum because they have worked with him so much and I appreciate Wooddale so much for everything that they have done.

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School board members propose separate resolutions to oppose new law allowing teachers to carry guns

Two members of the Knox County Schools (KCS) Board of Education are proposing competing resolutions to push back on a recently passed law to allow armed teachers in classrooms.Board members Kristi Kristy, R-District 9, and and Katherine Bike, D-District 4, are each sponsoring resolutions to reject the legislation passed last week by the Tennessee General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Bill Lee. Both resolutions come to the same conclusion, but Kristy and Bike focus on different reasons.

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Local Education, Memphis Guest User Local Education, Memphis Guest User

MSCS’ $200 million funding request reflects soaring cost of new high schools

Memphis-Shelby County Schools is asking the county for more than $200 million in funding for school buildings, both to address maintenance needs at existing schools and to support construction of two new high schools.The request exceeds even the expanded school buildings budget supported by a county wheel tax increase last year, and it’s not clear how much of it the county can provide. Projected costs for the two new high schools have risen by tens of millions of dollars since county commissioners approved initial funding for them.

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Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold Local Education, Memphis Sky Arnold

Memphis-Shelby County School Board rejects three proposed new public charter schools but leaves the door open for one of them

Brittany Jones told members of the Memphis-Shelby County School Board her 13-year-old son has seen real change at the Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School.She says her son is autistic and she enrolled him there two years ago hoping the all-boys public charter school would be a good fit. Jones says the change has been so positive she’s supporting the school’s plan to offer a similar school for girls.

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Knoxville, Local Education Vanessa Helgeland Knoxville, Local Education Vanessa Helgeland

Knox Prep welcomes new students into a family atmosphere

Tawanya Figgs says she felt her 11-year-old son Ta’vion Wilson needed a change going into his sixth-grade school year.Figgs says the traditional public schools in Knox County aren’t preparing him for high school and she’s been looking into private school options. Her search for an alternative ended after meeting staff at the new Knoxville Preparatory School.

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Local Education, Memphis Reana Gibson Local Education, Memphis Reana Gibson

Memphis-Shelby County Schools to make major investment in teacher salaries

The Memphis-Shelby County School Board unanimously approved an agreement Tuesday night to spend $28 million increasing teacher salaries.The historic investment will raise the average teacher with a bachelor’s degree’s salary by more than $4,800 in the 20224/2025 school year. Teachers with a master’s degree will average nearly $4,800 more, education specialists will see more than $6,300 more, and those with a doctorate will average more than a $9,900 increase.

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