• About
    • About Us
    • What We Cover
  • Advertise
    • Advertise
    • Our Advertisers
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Send News
  • Subscribe

Oak Ridge Today

  • Home
  • Sign in
  • News
    • Business
    • Community
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Police and Fire
    • U.S. Department of Energy
    • Weather
  • Sports
    • High School
    • Middle School
    • Recreation
    • Rowing
    • Youth
  • Entertainment
    • Arts
    • Dancing
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Television
    • Theater
  • Premium Content
  • Obituaries
  • Classifieds




Parents, teachers, friends form Friends of Oak Ridge Schools

Posted at 7:54 pm August 1, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff 2 Comments

A group of parents, neighbors, teachers, and friends have created a new organization that will focus on maintaining a strong school system in Oak Ridge.

The new organization, Friends of Oak Ridge Schools, or FORS, was founded on the idea that a great school system benefits each and every child and also enhances the socioeconomic condition of the city, a press release said.

“We believe a strong school system is important to draw and retain businesses, industries, and new citizens by providing a well-educated, diverse workforce,” said the release, authored by Fernanda Foertter, Linda Gilpin, Donna Butcher, and Jutta Bangs.

The release said Friends of Oak Ridge Schools was started on the knowledge and experience of a similar organization in Support Strong Sumner Country Schools, but FORS has its own mission unique to Oak Ridge. FORS is totally independent of any other group, including Oak Ridge Schools, Oak Ridge Board of Education, and Oak Ridge City Council, the release said.

“We will, however, seek to foster good relationships with each of those bodies, as dialogue is important to achieve the best cooperation in maintaining a great school system,” the press release said. “Over the coming months, we also will also work with our community to assess your ideas on education and to help you learn more about programs and issues pertaining to Oak Ridge Schools. We welcome active participation by the community. All ideas are important, but it is one of our primary objectives to insure our school system has the necessary resources to take our children, our future, forward in this decade and the one to follow. We will not advocate for unlimited funding and recognize that every tax dollar in important, but we will assist the community and Oak Ridge Schools in discussions of funding.

“We cannot tell the Board of Education how to use funding, though we believe that by establishing a dialogue with the community, school system, Board, and City Council, necessary resources will be made available and that they will be used for the singular purpose of maximizing the instruction of our children.”

The release said that FORS’ purpose is to provide children with a bridge to the future through education.

“In the immediate future, we will recommend for your consideration candidates for City Council and Board of Education that we feel will work to that end,” the release said. “We look forward to the future and hope all friends of our school system will take part in providing a great bridge to the future for our children. Our entire community will benefit.”

Filed Under: Education, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Donna Butcher, education, Fernanda Foertter, FORS, Friends of Oak Ridge Schools, funding, Jutta Bangs, Linda Gilpin, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge City Council, Oak Ridge Schools, school system

Advertisements

Join the club!

If you appreciate our work, please consider subscribing. Besides helping us, your subscription will give you access to our premium content.

Most of our stories are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our members—advertisers, subscribers, and sponsors.

But some are premium content, available only to members. Those are in-depth, investigative, or exclusive stories that are available only on Oak Ridge Today. They generally require at least four hours to report, write, and publish.

You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month.

You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers, and they include benefits.

Basic

  • Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
  • Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

  • Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month
  • Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and submit one press release or public service announcement per month

Temporary

  • Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here.

We also accept donations. You can donate here.

If you prefer to send a check for a subscription or donation, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

Commenting Guidelines

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.

More Education News

RSCC Coffey McNally Building Oak Ridge

Roane State has training exercise Wednesday

Roane State Community College will have a training exercise on its Oak Ridge Branch Campus on Wednesday. Law enforcement and emergency vehicles may be on campus during this time, the college said Tuesday. … [Read More...]

Register online now for ORICL summer courses

Looking for mental stimulation? Want to learn a new skill or increase your knowledge of history and science? Online registration for in-person and online courses offered in the summer of 2021 by the Oak Ridge Institute … [Read More...]

Roane State to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Oak Ridge for students & employees

Roane State Community College, in partnership with the Free Medical Clinic of Oak Ridge, is planning a two-part vaccination clinic at its Oak Ridge Branch Campus for Roane State students and … [Read More...]

ORHS Cheerleading Breakfast Fundraiser is May 1

The Oak Ridge High School Cheerleaders, coaches, and boosters invite the community to their Burrito Breakfast. This year's breakfast will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, May 1, at Gallo Loco. Tickets are $5 each and … [Read More...]

Roane State One Stop resumes in-person student services

Part of the Oak Ridge branch campus of Roane State Community College is pictured above. (Photo by Roane State) Roane State Community College’s One Stop offices at the Roane County and Oak Ridge campuses have now … [Read More...]

More Education

Recent Posts

  • THDA grant will help with down payment assistance in Oak Ridge
  • Demolition work at ORNL radioisotope lab could be complete this spring
  • Final Breakfast with the Legislators of the year is Monday
  • Roane State has training exercise Wednesday
  • Dogwood Junior Championship Regatta in Oak Ridge this weekend
  • National Park Service asks for public comments about Manhattan Project Park
  • DEA Drug Take-Back Day is Saturday
  • Register online now for ORICL summer courses
  • Roane State to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics in Oak Ridge for students & employees
  • ORAU will support COVID-19 communications for CDC Office of Minority Health & Health Equity

Search Oak Ridge Today

About Us

About Oak Ridge Today
What We Cover

How To

Advertise
Subscribe

Contact Us

Contact Oak Ridge Today

Copyright © 2021 Oak Ridge Today