Rang has an overall head coaching record of 86-29 at Powell, Dresden, Gatlinburg-Pittman, and Lewis County High Schools, and he coached the Dresden Lions when they won the 2016 state championship, according to Oak Ridge Schools.
5Star Preps reported that Rang, 28, resigned after one season at Lewis in west Tennessee, where he had an 11-2 record in 2022.
Oak Ridge Schools said each school coached by Rang has advanced to the TSSAA playoff quarterfinals or beyond, and Rang has won 18 postseason games as a head coach.
Oak Ridge Schools has named its teachers of the year, teaching assistant of the year, and principal of the year.
The Teacher of the Year program recognizes and honors outstanding teachers in Tennessee, a press release said.
“The Tennessee Department of Education staff applauds teachers who care about children, who devote their professional lives to enriching the lives of Tennessee students, and who demonstrate exceptional gains in student achievement,” the press release said.
In Oak Ridge, teacher candidates are sought from each school in the district.
Here are the district-level winners, who were nominated by their peers. The information was written in the staff members’ own words and excerpted from their full applications. The narratives provide a window into each staff member’s authenticity and commitment to Oak Ridge students, the press release said.
Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers will present his State of the Schools at Lunch with the League on Tuesday, February 1.
During the annual talks, Borchers gives an overview of what is happening in Oak Ridge Schools.
“Between the unusual events at the high school in December and groundbreaking of the state-of-the-art Ben Martin Track, Dr. Borchers will undoubtedly have much to share,” a press release said.
Lunch with the League is organized by League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge.
Borchers started his education career as an elementary physical education teacher in the Sioux City (Iowa) Community School District. He also worked as an interim assistant principal and guidance counselor in Iowa City, Iowa; as assistant principal and principal in Mankato, Minnesota; and as associate superintendent of secondary schools for the Anoka-Hennepin (Minnesota) School District. Prior to joining the Oak Ridge Schools, Borchers was the superintendent of the Rockwood School District from 2010 to 2013.
A graph of COVID-19 case counts in the Knoxville-Knox County region through Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022, by the Tennessee Department of Health.
Many schools in the area are closed this week due to illness, but Oak Ridge Schools have remained open.
Anderson County Schools were closed Wednesday and Thursday and will remain closed Friday “due to staffing concerns related to illness.”
Clinton City Schools were open Wednesday but closed Thursday, and they will remain closed Friday due to student illness.
Knox County Schools were also closed Wednesday and Thursday and will remain closed Friday “due to staffing challenges related to illness.” The school system cannot shift to virtual learning district-wide because of rules established by the Tennessee Board of Education, Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas said in a letter to families. But individual schools may have to switch to virtual learning in the next several weeks depending upon absences, and the district could submit waiver applications to the Tennessee Department of Education.
An image by Cope Architecture of Knoxville showing what the rebuilt Ben Martin Track will look like at Oak Ridge High School.
A $1.3 million project is under way to rebuild the Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School by June. The asphalt base of the eight-lane track dates back to the 1950s, the rubber surface is washing away, and holes are visible in the disintegrating and patched lanes. The pole vault has been unusable since 2017, and track coaches and athletes from other schools have recently declined to compete in Oak Ridge because of the conditions.
That is expected to change with the new renovated facility, which could host large invitational, sectional, and college track meets. The renovation project will rebuild the asphalt base of the track, add a new rubberized surface, and replace underground utilities. All field events except pole vault will move to the infield. Shot put and discus rings will be on the north end of the football practice field, while long jump and triple jump will be along the straight section of track nearest the bleachers. The pole vault will remain on the south side of the track, but it will move to the west end near the field house.
“This is a first phase of what we hope to be a larger project long-term,” Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools supervisor of maintenance and operations, told the Oak Ridge Board of Education in October. “This is foundational.”
The project has been talked about “behind the scenes” for a handful of years, and there has been intense planning for about two years, according to those involved.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:Basic
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge TodayP.O. Box 6064Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
An image by Cope Architecture of Knoxville showing what the rebuilt Ben Martin Track will look like at Oak Ridge High School.
A $1.3 million project is under way to rebuild the Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School by June. The asphalt base of the eight-lane track dates back to the 1950s, the rubber surface is washing away, and holes are visible in the disintegrating and patched lanes. The pole vault has been unusable since 2017, and track coaches and athletes from other schools have recently declined to compete in Oak Ridge because of the conditions.
That is expected to change with the new renovated facility, which could host large invitational, sectional, and college track meets, according to those involved. The renovation project will rebuild the asphalt base of the track, add a new rubberized surface, and replace underground utilities. All field events except pole vault will move to the infield. Shot put and discus rings will be on the north end of the football practice field, while long jump and triple jump will be along the straight section of track nearest the bleachers. The pole vault will remain on the south side of the track, but it will move to the west end near the field house.
An image by Cope Architecture of Knoxville showing what the rebuilt Ben Martin Track will look like at Oak Ridge High School.
A $1.3 million project is under way to rebuild the Ben Martin Track at Oak Ridge High School by June. The asphalt base of the eight-lane track dates back to the 1950s, the rubber surface is washing away, and holes are visible in the disintegrating and patched lanes. The pole vault has been unusable since 2017, and track coaches and athletes from other schools have recently declined to compete in Oak Ridge because of the conditions.
That is expected to change with the new renovated facility, which could host large invitational, sectional, and college track meets. The renovation project will rebuild the asphalt base of the track, add a new rubberized surface, and replace underground utilities. All field events except pole vault will move to the infield. Shot put and discus rings will be on the north end of the football practice field, while long jump and triple jump will be along the straight section of track nearest the bleachers. The pole vault will remain on the south side of the track, but it will move to the west end near the field house.
“This is a first phase of what we hope to be a larger project long-term,” Allen Thacker, Oak Ridge Schools supervisor of maintenance and operations, told the Oak Ridge Board of Education in October. “This is foundational.”
The project has been talked about “behind the scenes” for a handful of years, and there has been intense planning for about two years, according to those involved.
The rest of this story is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or contributor to Oak Ridge Today.Already a member? Great! Thank you! Sign in here.Not a member? No problem! Subscribe here:Basic
If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge TodayP.O. Box 6064Oak Ridge, TN 37831 We also have advanced subscription options. You can see them here. We also accept donations. You can donate here. A donation of $50 or more will make you eligible for a subscription. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support!
Oak Ridge Schools and Tennessee government offices will be closed Friday because of weather and road conditions, and Oak Ridge city offices will open late.
Anderson County government offices could be closed Friday as well, although a decision hadn’t been announced as of 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
Winter weather that started Thursday included freezing rain, ice, snow, and cold temperatures, and state offices and schools were closed Thursday also while some city offices closed early.
The cold weather is forecast to continue Friday, although no snow is forecast after midnight Thursday in Oak Ridge.
Oak Ridge High School was on lockdown on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021, after administrators were made aware of a shooting threat posted on social media. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)
The Oak Ridge Police Department has charged three students with terrorism and threats of mass violence after they allegedly made school shooting threats in two separate incidents on social media on Monday and Tuesday.
The charges were filed in Anderson County Juvenile Court on Wednesday afternoon, and the court authorized the detention of the children in the Richard L. Bean Detention Facility in Knox County. The children were taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said.
All three juveniles were charged with terrorism, threat of mass violence on school property, and false report. Two of the children were allegedly involved in a shooting threat posted on Snapchat on Monday, and they were also charged with conspiracy. That threat led to a lockdown at Oak Ridge High School on Monday. The third child was allegedly involved in a separate shooting threat that was posted on Snapchat on Tuesday, and that student will face the first three charges.
Clark said the children are required to have a detention hearing quickly under Tennessee law, and that hearing could occur as soon as Thursday afternoon in Anderson County Juvenile Court.
The Oak Ridge Police Department has identified the student responsible for posting a new shooting threat on Snapchat about Oak Ridge High School, and charges are pending, city and school officials said Wednesday.
“ORHS had another social media shooting threat last night,” the City of Oak Ridge said in a brief statement. “The juvenile suspect was identified overnight, and the threat was determined not viable. Charges are forthcoming. School continued as normal this morning.”
The new Snapchat threats were posted at about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, after two students were identified as being responsible for a previous threat posted Monday, according to information from Oak Ridge Schools.
“We immediately contacted the Oak Ridge Police Department and are pleased to share that they have been successful in identifying the student responsible for posting these threats,” school officials said. “We are appreciative of their expedient action and resolve of this safety concern.”
Families received a phone call about the new threats early Wednesday.
The Oak Ridge Police Department will have an increased presence at Oak Ridge High School on Tuesday following a lockdown on Monday, Oak Ridge Schools said.
The lockdown came after a shooting threat on social media that school administrators learned about on Monday.
“After learning of this threat, we immediately placed ORHS on a Level 3 lockdown and contacted the Oak Ridge Police Department,” Oak Ridge Schools told families Monday evening. “The ORPD will ‘continue to investigate and keep students safe’ during this situation. As the City of Oak Ridge press release stated, we too ‘appreciate the seamless coordination and efforts between the school system, city, and ORPD as this investigation continues.'”
This graph compares COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools at the beginning of the school years 2020 and 2021. (Chart by Oak Ridge Today with Oak Ridge School data and Flourish visualization)
So far, the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools has increased about 15 times faster this year than last year.
At about this time last year, there were 12 cases of COVID-19 reported in Oak Ridge Schools.
This year, in the same time period, there have been 181 cases reported.
Graphing the two together makes last year’s increase in cases seem relatively flat compared to the large increase in cases this year.
Oak Ridge school board member Angi Agle, right, proposed a mask mandate inside Oak Ridge school buildings, and her motion was seconded by board member Ben Stephens, left. The school board approved the mandate, which has a written opt-out per an executive order by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, in a 3-1 vote on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021.
Note: This story was last updated at 12 a.m.
The Oak Ridge Board of Education approved a mask mandate in a 3-1 vote on Monday.
The approval of the mask mandate, which is similar to a mandate at four Anderson County schools, occurred as the school system reported about 180 COVID-19 cases among students and staff members in less than three weeks. COVID cases have now been reported at all schools: the preschool, all four elementary schools, both middle schools, the high school, and Secret City Academy.
The mask mandate approved Monday will require masks indoors in school buildings unless the school system has received a written opt-out notice from a parent or guardian in compliance with an executive order issued by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee last week.
The Oak Ridge school year started Wednesday, July 28, with face masks being optional. However, as cases increased significantly in three schools, masks were required there. Those three schools were Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School.
