Education Archives - Oak Ridge Today

Federal spending cuts affect special education program in Oak Ridge

May 23, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Federal funds to Oak Ridge Schools could be cut five percent starting July 1 under the so-called sequester, and that’s led to staff reductions in the special education program.

Four positions would be cut at Oak Ridge High School and three elementary schools—Glenwood, Linden, and Willow Brook—under a budget approved by school board members on second and final reading Thursday. Two of the reductions would result in job losses. One is a teaching assistant position at Linden, and the other is a teaching assistant job at Oak Ridge High School.

Parents with children in the program have said they are concerned about how the students might struggle if they don’t continue to get the one-on-one help they need. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Bob Eby, Bob Smallridge, bonus, budget, federal funds, funding, Hal Jernigan, Linden, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, revenues, school resource officers, sequester, special education, spending cuts, SRO, technological needs

Perma-Fix awards scholarships from Roane Chamber high school career day

May 22, 2013 By Roane County Chamber of Commerce Leave a Comment

The third annual Perma-Fix Career Day Scholarships have been awarded to a graduate from each of the five Roane County high schools. The students receiving the $250 scholarships applied for them during their junior year while participating in the High School Career Day, sponsored by the Roane County Chamber of Commerce.

The five graduating students receiving the Perma-Fix Scholarships this year are David “Tre” Pack, Harriman High; Patricia Howe, Midway High; Charlee Lee Roberts, Oliver Springs High, Eric Luffman, Roane-Kingston County High; and Kelsey Legg, Rockwood High. They all attended the Chamber’s 2011 Career Day. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, College, Education, K-12, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: Allen Lutz, Charlee Lee Roberts, David “Tre” Pack, Diversified Scientific Services Inc., Eric Luffman, Harriman High School, High School Career Day, Kelsey Legg, Kenyon Mee, Midway High School, Oliver Springs High School, Patricia Howe, Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Roane Alliance, Roane County, Roane County Chamber of Commerce, Roane-Kingston County High School, Rockwood High School, scholarships

School board approves one-time bonus, SRO funding, hears pleas to save jobs

May 22, 2013 By John Huotari 1 Comment

Oak Ridge High School students Miranda Lands, left, Michele Lands, and Matthew Stansberry present a student petition asking the Oak Ridge Board of Education to spare physics teacher Katherine Goepfert from budget-cutting layoffs.

The teaching jobs should be saved, students and parents told the Oak Ridge Board of Education during a special budget meeting Tuesday.

One of the teachers who could lose her job, Oak Ridge High School physics teacher Katherine Goepfert, or “Ms. G.,” has motivated students who have been in danger of dropping out, they said, and 109 students have signed a petition asking for her position to be saved.

“She’s just a good teacher,” ORHS senior Miranda Lands said. “She’s ‘busting her butt’ every day for our education.”

A few parents pleaded for the board to preserve a special education teaching assistant position at Linden Elementary School. They said their children require one-on-one attention, and they are concerned the students might struggle without that help. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Angi Agle, Bob Eby, bonus, budget, computers, fund balance, job cuts, jobs, Katherine Goepfert, Keys Fillauer, Linden Elementary School, Miranda Lands, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge High School, school board, school resource officers, spending, SRO, teachers, teaching assistant, Tim Southern, Ya Li

Anderson County school bus rolls on side, three students possibly injured

May 21, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 1:57 p.m.

An Anderson County school bus rolled on its side on Johnson Gap Road on Tuesday morning in the Dutch Valley community, and five students could have minor injuries, officials said.

There were 44 students on Bus No. 20, which transports students to Dutch Valley Elementary School, Clinton Middle School, and Clinton High School, said Jim Woodward, chief financial officer for Anderson County Schools. It crashed at Dutch Valley Road at about 7:50 a.m. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Education, K-12, Police and Fire, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Anderson County Schools, Clinton High School, Clinton Middle School, Dutch Valley, Dutch Valley Elementary School, Jim Woodward, Johnson Gap Road, school bus

Halls Middle School students get ‘taste of science’ at Y-12

May 21, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Daryl Smith of Y-12, left, demonstrates how a banana freezes when soaked in liquid nitrogen at New Hope Center to Miller Sullivan, center, and Tyler Young of Halls Middle School on Monday. (Submitted photo)

During a visit to the Y-12 National Security Complex on Monday, eighth-graders Miller Sullivan and Tyler Young learned what happens to a banana when it is submerged in liquid nitrogen.

Darryl Smith of Y-12 was one of four engineering, science, and history experts to give nearly 50 Halls Middle School students “a taste of science past and present at Y-12,” a press release said. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Andrea Souza, Darryl Smith, Halls Middle School, Miller Sullivan, taste of science, Tyler Young, Y-12 National Security Complex

Roane Alliance kicks off Education Matters! fundraising drive

May 19, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Front row: Allen Lutz; back row (l-r): Carmen Van Horn, Gary Aytes, Chris Whaley, Leslie Henderson, and Chris Ayers. (Submitted photo)

The Roane Alliance on Thursday kicked off a fund drive to keep its Education Matters! initiative—a “Best Practice” program, according to the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce— continuing in the future.

The Education Matters! program funding is being cut as of June 30 of this year.

“The Education Matters! mission is that every child in Roane County gets some post-secondary education—and does well at it,” said Leslie Henderson, president and chief executive officer of The Roane Alliance. “Education Matters! is making remarkable progress towards that goal, but starting at the end of June this year, the program has lost its funding and we need the community’s help. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, Education, K-12, Roane County, Top Stories Tagged With: Allen Lutz, Education Matters, Knoxville Oak Ridge Innovation Valley, Leslie Henderson, Roane Alliance, Roane County, Roane County Public Schools, Roane State Community College; Tennessee Technology Center Harriman; Roane County United Way

East Tennessee teachers win UCOR ‘mini-grants’

May 15, 2013 By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Teachers in more than a dozen East Tennessee schools have won 25 “mini-grants” in an education program meant to recognize and support teaching excellence, and help teachers with specific projects or curricula.

The grants focus primarily on projects meant to help students learn about science, technology, engineering, and math, a press release said. UCOR, a federal cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, announced the grant winners Wednesday.

The winners and their proposed projects and schools are: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business, East Tennessee Technology Park, Education, K-12, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: CH2M Oak Ridge LLC, education, Leo Sain, mini grants, science technology engineering and math, teaching, U.S. Department of Energy, UCOR, URS

With revenues down, Oak Ridge Schools could cut 18 positions, six could lose jobs

May 13, 2013 By John Huotari 6 Comments

Bob Smallridge

Revenues could be down about $1 million, and Oak Ridge Schools officials have recommended cutting 18 positions, including roughly eight teaching spots.

Six employees could lose their jobs, Oak Ridge Interim Superintendent Bob Smallridge said during a special meeting Monday. The rest of the cuts could occur through retirements and employees taking new jobs, among other things.

The 18 reductions could save about $1.1 million, Smallridge said. One special education teaching position would be added. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Basic Education Program, Bob Smallridge, budget, health insurance, jobs, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Schools, property tax, reductions, salaries, sales taxes, spending increases

Oak Ridge superintendent presents budget tonight

May 13, 2013 By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bob Smallridge

Oak Ridge Schools Interim Superintendent Bob Smallridge will present a budget to the Board of Education during a meeting this evening.

The special meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. in Board Room at the School Administration Building, which is at 304 New York Ave.

It’s the first in a series of six meetings between today and May 23. The school system’s budget could be presented to the Oak Ridge City Council on May 28. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: budget, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Schools, superintendent

Register for ORICL courses, trips by May 15

May 11, 2013 By Carolyn Krause Leave a Comment

On an ORICL-sponsored trip to Chattanooga during the winter-spring term, Carolyn Krause, left, Richard Wright, Murray Martin, and Pat DeRoos enjoy the trip along the Tennessee River in a catamaran. (Submitted photo)

Would you like to know how to develop an estate plan, protect your life’s savings from investment mistakes, take better photos with a digital camera, and control the growth of kudzu?

If so, you may want to consider becoming a member of the Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, or registering for summer classes and trips if you already are.

The summer semester of ORICL starts June 10 and ends Aug. 9. The early registration deadline is May 15. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Community, Education, Top Stories Tagged With: early registration, Oak Ridge Institute for Continued Learning, ORICL, Roane State Community College, summer semester

Roane State graduation is Friday, Saturday

May 9, 2013 By Roane State Community College Leave a Comment

Gaye Jolly

Cuyler A. Dunbar

Roane State Community College will hold commencement ceremonies on May 10-11.

Both events, to be held in the gym on the Roane County campus in Harriman, will be equal in presentation. [Read more...]

Filed Under: College, Education, Top Stories Tagged With: commencement, Cuyler A. Dunbar, Gaye Jolly, graduation, Roane State Community College

UT names advanced manufacturing expert as Governor’s Chair with ORNL

May 8, 2013 By University of Tennessee Leave a Comment

Sudarsanam Suresh Babu

Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, an authority in the production, design, and performance of transforming materials into parts, has been named the 11th University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor’s Chair.

Babu will serve as Governor’s Chair for Advanced Manufacturing. He begins on July 1.

Babu, a professor in the Welding Engineering Program in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University, directed a National Science Foundation Industry and University Cooperative Research center focused on materials joining for energy applications. [Read more...]

Filed Under: College, Education, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories Tagged With: advanced manufacturing, Aerospace, and Biomedical Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, Energy Material Program, Governor's Chair for Advanced Manufacturing, Jimmy G. Cheek, Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Ohio State University, ORNL, professor, Sudarsanam Suresh Babu, University of Tennessee, University of Tennessee-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Governor's Chair, UT