Education
How Metro Schools will spend $26M in CARES Act funding
Metro Nashville Public Schools will spend the largest chunk of its federal CARES Act funding on a nutritional program to provide meals to economically disadvantaged children, according to details released by the district last week. MNPS received $26 million in funding from the CARES Act, which Congress passed earlier this year in response to the […]
COVID-19 continues to increase at DCS
The Department of Children’s Services has produced new details about youth and staff who have tested positive for COVID-19 in county-run detention centers, residential treatment facilities operated by DCS contractors and in Wilder Youth Development Center, DCS’ sole secure lockup for delinquent youth. In total, 185 youth and 106 staff have tested positive for COVID-19 […]
Austin Peay names interim president
In a special meeting Monday morning, the Austin Peay State University board of trustees named Dannelle Whiteside as the university’s interim president until a permanent president is found. APSU’s president for six years, Alisa White, unexpectedly announced June 19 that she will step down in August after commencement ceremonies to take the position as president […]
NOAH hosts round two of school board interviews in Nashville
Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) hosted the second of four virtual forums Thursday for school board candidates to address questions and issues facing Metro Nashville Schools, with Metro Councilmember Kyonzte Toombs (District 2) serving as moderator. Incumbents Christiane Buggs, District 5, and Freda Player-Peters, District 7, are both running without opposition. Buggs has […]
Breaking: Education reform operative and teachers union leader nominated for vacant school board seat
Education reform operative John Little and teachers union board member Erick Huth are among the five nominees to fill the vacant Metro Nashville Public Schools board seat following the death of board chairwoman Anna Shepherd earlier this month. Little has worked as a consultant and organizer for a number of groups that support education reform […]
Metro Nashville Schools: Laptops won’t be ready for all students when school starts
Laptops purchased with federal pandemic recovery funds won’t be available for all Metro Nashville Public Schools students when classes resume in August, according to a district spokesman. Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced earlier this month plans to spend approximately $24 million in federal CARES Act funds to buy laptops for all MNPS students and internet […]
Austin Peay president steps down for Texas position
As universities navigate the impact of the coronavirus on their budgets and enrollment, Austin Peay State University has been handed an additional challenge to overcome. APSU President Alisa White announced Thursday morning that she will leave Clarksville this summer for a new position in Texas. An interim president has not yet been named. Pending her […]
Food assistance now available to families
The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) announced on Monday that Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) is now available for families needing financial support to meet their children’s nutritional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. TDHS in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) began providing P-EBT to families on Friday through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) […]
Teachers concerned budget cuts will cause strain in school reopening plans
School officials have begun to work out details to reopen school for the fall, but many educators worry that education budget cuts will put a greater strain on teachers and students alike. Districts across Tennessee currently have task forces composed of members of the community and most have released few details about reopening schools for […]
Legislature to vote on updating lead testing for public school buildings
The Tennessee House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on a bill to revise a 2019 law enacted to minimize potential sources of lead contamination from public school drinking water and child-care programs. Introduced by Rep. London Lamar, provisions require officials to notify parents within 24 hours when lead levels exceed legal limits, to retest within […]
MNPS unveils plan for students to return to school
Metro Nashville Public Schools unveiled on Tuesday three different scenarios for what school will look like this fall, but the biggest question families are asking – will students return to the classroom – won’t be answered until early July. MNPS Director Adrienne Battle detailed three scenarios for how school will be conducted depending on how […]
Metro Nashville School Board Chair Anna Shepherd dies
A representative from Metro Nashville Public Schools has confirmed Nashville school board chairwoman Anna Jenesse Shepherd died Monday night. She was 68. Shepherd represented eastern Davidson County on the school board. Shepherd had been ill and was in the hospital She was elected to the board in 2010 and in the midst of her second […]