Oak Ridge Today

Education Foundation names new director

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Jessica Steed

Jessica Steed

Jessica Steed was recently named executive director of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation.

The Foundation’s board of directors chose Steed to replace Jenna Whitney, who resigned after her husband Mark, who was the manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management for the U.S. Department of Energy, accepted a new job with DOE in Washington, D.C.

Steed, a certified public accountant since 2001, worked for more than six years in public accounting as an auditor and tax accountant before becoming a full-time parent and community volunteer for the last nine years.

Since Steed moved to Oak Ridge four years ago, she has served as a classroom volunteer, as treasurer for both Woodland Elementary and Jefferson Middle School PTOs, and as an active member of the PTO Council. The Foundation’s selection committee noted that Steed comes to the position with a strong financial and accounting background and with knowledge of issues that affect the Oak Ridge school system.

“Although I have thoroughly enjoyed volunteering in the school system, I am ready to move into a position that allows me to help support not only my own children’s schools, but the whole school system I have grown to appreciate,” Steed said in a press release. “My experience in public accounting and volunteer work in the schools will serve as a great foundation as I strive to support the mission of the ORPSEF.” [Read more…]

Kristina Cunningham awarded the 2014 Myrick Scholarship

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Tim Myrick and Kristina Cunningham

Kristina Cunningham, right, is the sixth recipient of the AP Environmental Science scholarship from Tim and Teresa Myrick awarded through the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation. Tim Myrick is pictured at left.

 

When AP Environmental Science teacher Deni Sobek and Tim Myrick pulled Kristina Cunningham out of class earlier this month, the Oak Ridge High School senior was worried.

“I was nervous. I thought I had done something wrong,” said Kristina, who laughs about the incident now. Kristina wasn’t in trouble; in fact, she was surprised to find that Myrick had chosen to award her with a $1,000 college scholarship.

Tim Myrick, a guest lecturer and advisor to the advanced placement class, has a keen interest in making sure that the students and faculty of the ORHS science department are well-equipped and in rewarding high-caliber students such as Kristina.

In 2012, Myrick and his wife Teresa pledged $25,000 to the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation’s “Making the Critical Difference” campaign for grants and scholarships. Their pledge provides for an annual scholarship to a top AP Environmental Science student, as well as grant funds to be awarded to ORHS Science Department applicants. Kristina is the sixth recipient of the Myricks’ AP Environmental Science scholarship, with previous scholarships presented through ADFAC. [Read more…]

Education Foundation will award $80,000 in grants at Wednesday ceremony

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Oak Ridge Today

As part of its “Making the Critical Difference” campaign, the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award almost $80,000 in grants to community teachers at a ceremony this Wednesday, May 21. The ceremony is open to the public and will be held in the Oak Ridge High School cafeteria beginning at 3 p.m.

Longtime Oak Ridge resident and award-winning author Eva Wike will speak at the event and will be available after the ceremony to sign copies of her most recent book, “Fiddler of the Mountains—Attuned to the Life and Times of Johnny Mull.” Wike is contributing a significant portion of the sales of her book to the Education Foundation.

The grants program is a key component of the foundation’s mission to support the highest quality education for all students. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools seeks to become top STEM district in country

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Bruce Borchers Introduces Discovery Education

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers introduces Discovery Education to members of the PTA Council on Thursday, April 10. (Photos by Sara Wise)

Superintendent: ‘It’s a big deal nationally’

Oak Ridge Schools is attempting to become the premier district in the nation for science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, education. Superintendent Bruce Borchers has a $3.4 million plan to make that happen using Microsoft Surface tablets and Discovery Education. The money will be spent over a five-year period.

Borchers calls the needed changes a “digital transformation” that will, he hopes, bring a tablet to every student in the school system. This is especially important in Oak Ridge, a district with a free and reduced lunch rate of more than 50 percent. The digital transformation would allow every student in the district to have the same educational opportunities, regardless of income.

The first of three steps toward transformation is to create a technological infrastructure capable of handling all the tablets. Those improvements have a $1 million price tag that the Oak Ridge Board of Education and the city have already approved. Borchers hopes for the upgrades to be completed before students return to school in the fall. The upgrades are projected to last until at least 2022. [Read more…]

Education Foundation will award $80,000 more to Oak Ridge teachers

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The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award another $80,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers this year, and applications are now being accepted for the 2014 grant cycle.

This year, the Foundation will award $80,000 in grants to teachers, administrative staff, and student groups as part of its ongoing “Making the Critical Difference” campaign. Grant applications are due no later than March 31.

This campaign provides resources and teaching tools over and above those funded with tax dollars, typically in the range of $500 to $5,000, a press release said. The grants are not intended for salaries or to replace items that may have been cut from the schools’ annual budgets. Since the program began in 2004, the Foundation has awarded a total of more than $399,000 to dozens of teachers in every grade. ORPSEF grants may be made for educational programming, professional development, equipment, facilities, travel, conferences, or other purposes that might be approved by the Foundation. [Read more…]

Education Foundation accepting applications for international study scholarship

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The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation is accepting applications now from students for the Dr. Adrian R. Lawler Exchange Student Scholarship, offering students attending Oak Ridge public schools or recent graduates support for participating in international study programs.

Lawler, an Oak Ridge High School graduate who was the second student here to participate in an American Field Service international exchange program, established the scholarship to offer students opportunities to gain tolerance and understanding of people from other cultures through international study programs.

Lawler, who died more than a year ago, was a retired marine scientist living in Mississippi when he designated the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation to administer the scholarship with a five-member scholarship committee. The foundation awarded the first two Lawler scholarships in 2008 to college students who were participating in international study programs.

The deadline for submitting the application is March 7, 2014. Applications may be picked up at the Oak Ridge High School counseling office. Applicants may also call Jenna Whitney, executive director of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, at (865) 241-3667, or e-mail her at [email protected] to request an application. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation names new director

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Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation Jenna Whitney and Lila Metcalf

Lila Metcalf, left, former director of the Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation, welcomes the new foundation director, Jenna Whitney. (Submitted photo)

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation has named a new director.

Jenna Whitney started Jan. 1, the foundation’s board of directors announced this week. Whitney has more than 15 years of general management experience in the professional services industry and the U.S. government.

Whitney replaces the foundation’s first director, Lila Metcalf, who has announced that she is leaving the position after almost 10 years with the foundation. She will return full-time to her nursing career.

Whitney recently served as a program manager at a defense contracting firm with oversight of more than $59 million in U.S. government contracts, and she has directed a portfolio of engineering and technical support contracts, a press release said. She has worked overseas for the U.S. State Department, managing financial operations and leading strategic and technical initiatives. [Read more…]