Oak Ridge Today

East Tennessee teachers win UCOR ‘mini-grants’

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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…]

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

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Bob Smallridge

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…]

Oak Ridge superintendent presents budget tonight

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Bob Smallridge

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…]

Public education reforms to be discussed at League meeting Tuesday

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Jerry Winters, retired chief lobbyist for the Tennessee Education Association, will discuss the challenges facing public schools, with an emphasis on corporate “reforms,” during “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday, a press release said.

Winters will be the featured speaker at the meeting, which starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. His presentation is titled “Surviving the Attacks on Public Education.” [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Education Foundation donates $81,000 to city schools

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Deirdre Barrett and ORPSEF Foundation

Deirdre Barrett, right, is pictured above with Alice Feldman, Linda Young, Anne Garcia Garland, and Margaret Gottshall. (Submitted photos)

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation presented a check for $81,000 to the Oak Ridge Schools at the Foundation’s award ceremony Friday evening. The funds will be used to provide a variety of educational materials in each of the city’s seven public schools.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director and Foundation Chair Thom Mason told an audience of more than 150 attending the event that the gift was part of the Foundation’s “Making a Critical Difference” campaign that provides teachers small grants for teaching tools not available in the city’s education budget. Mason said that, since the program began in 2004, the Foundation has awarded a total of more than $408,000 to dozens of teachers in every grade. [Read more…]

Clinton High dedicates ‘net zero’ classroom

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Information from WYSH Radio

Students, teachers, and school administrators gathered to dedicate a new, so-called “net zero” classroom on the campus of Clinton High School on Tuesday.

The 1,150-square-foot building is powered by solar panels and is independent of the electric grid. The classroom, believed to be the first of its kind in the state, was funded by the school system as well as grants from Tennessee Valley Authority and Oak Ridge National Laboratory as well as other sponsors. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge High School again ranked sixth best in Tennessee

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Oak Ridge High School has been ranked sixth-best in Tennessee in the 2013 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best High Schools.

Oak Ridge was also No. 6 last year. [Read more…]

Workers repairing sinkhole under Oak Ridge soccer field

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Oak Ridge High School Soccer Field Sinkhole

Workers are repairing a 13-foot sinkhole under the soccer field at Oak Ridge High School.

Workers are repairing a 13-foot sinkhole under the Oak Ridge High School soccer field.

It started as an 18-inch hole two weeks ago, said Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools maintenance and operations supervisor. A section of the field “fell out,” and water was observed at the bottom.

Workers dug down about eight feet and found water running in, Thacker said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge announces new principals at Robertsville, Preschool

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New principals will start this summer at Robertsville Middle School and the Oak Ridge Schools Preschool, officials announced Friday.

The new RMS principal is James Hundertmark, Oak Ridge school officials said in a press release. Hundertmark is now lead associate principal of Klein High School in Klein, Texas.

The new preschool principal is Melinda White. She has been interim principal at Oak Ridge Schools Preschool since May 2012. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge school board approves new superintendent contract

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Bob and Carol Smallridge and Bruce Borchers

The Oak Ridge Board of Education has approved a four-year contract with new school superintendent Bruce Borchers, right. Above Borchers speaks to Carol Smallridge, left, and interim Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bob Smallridge, second from right. Also pictured is Borchers’ son Jack.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education unanimously approved a four-year contract with new superintendent Bruce Borchers in a short special meeting Monday.

Borchers will be paid $178,000 per year, and he starts June 18, said Bob Eby, school board vice chair.

“We’ve got a top-notch superintendent that can take us to the next level,” Eby said. He led the contract negotiations on behalf of the board with the help of Oak Ridge Schools Human Resources Director Christine Lee and school attorney Larry Giordano. [Read more…]

Application, renewal period for Oak Ridge tuition, cross boundary from April 8-26

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Oak Ridge City Schools has announced that the application period for renewing or applying for tuition and cross boundary applications is April 8 thru April 26. The approved applications are good for one year.

If your child remains in good standing during that time period, you will need to complete a cross boundary application for the upcoming school year and return it to your child’s school. [Read more…]

Local FIRST robotics teams dominate regionals, advance to national competition

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First Robotics Competition

From left, Oak Ridge High School’s Andreas Franco feeds discs into the team’s robot as Tag Groff, Oak Ridge National Laboratory mentor Mark Buckner, and Amelia DiAngelo manage the controls. (Photo by Jason Richards/ORNL)

Frisbee-flinging robots took over the Knoxville Convention Center last weekend, as thousands of high school students, mentors, and volunteers gathered for the third annual FIRST robotics Smoky Mountains regional competition.

Local teams Hardin Valley Academy, Oak Ridge High School, and Halls High School netted the championship title in a nail-biting finale at the regional event, qualifying them to compete in the national finals held April 24-27 in St. Louis. A team from Roane County High School, which won the Rookie All Star award, is also bound for nationals. The four high schools are among 14 teams sponsored by UT-Battelle, the managing contractor of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The FIRST robotics competition gives high school teams six weeks to design, build, and program a complex robot that can meet the intense demands of the year’s game. Throwing discs and climbing pyramids were among the challenges of the 2013 game, called Ultimate Ascent. [Read more…]