Oak Ridge Today

OR Schools asks for state help with military program, consistency for teachers

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Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen, center, visited Oak Ridge High School on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Also pictured are ORHS Principal Martin McDonald, left, and Tennessee Rep. John Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Oak Ridge Schools could use help with a military program, one of the so-called “seven keys” to college and career readiness, education officials told a state official on Thursday.

State officials can also help by “keeping teachers on the same path for more than one year,” Oak Ridge Board of Education Chair Keys Fillauer told Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice McQueen during a Thursday afternoon tour of Oak Ridge High School.

“Let’s give them (teachers) some consistency,” Fillauer said. McQueen’s path is called TNReady, Fillauer said. That’s described as a “new and improved” TCAP (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program), which students have taken since 1988.

McQueen is visiting all districts as part of a statewide tour. On Thursday, it was Oak Ridge’s turn. In addition to Oak Ridge High School, McQueen toured Glenwood Elementary School and Robertsville Middle School. [Read more…]

Tennessee education commissioner to visit Oak Ridge Schools on Thursday

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Candice McQueen

Candice McQueen

Candice McQueen, Tennessee’s education commissioner, will visit Oak Ridge Schools on Thursday, January 7.

During her visit, McQueen will tour Glenwood Elementary School, Robertsville Middle School, and Oak Ridge High School. She will also take part in an afternoon roundtable discussion that will feature about 30 administrators and teachers across a wide cross-section of grade levels, subject areas, and schools. They will discuss successes and challenges that educators are facing in their jobs, Oak Ridge Schools said.

Included in the discussion will be the Tennessee Department of Education’s “New Goals to Measure Education Progress,” which align with Oak Ridge Schools’ Seven Keys to College and Career Readiness. [Read more…]

School board extends superintendent’s contract to 2020

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Note: This story was updated at 3:15 p.m.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday unanimously extended the contract of Superintendent Bruce Borchers by one year to 2020.

The extended contract, which was approved 5-0, will take effect June 18, 2016, and continue through June 17, 2020.

The board can have a maximum of a four-year contract with Borchers, BOE Chair Keys Fillauer said.

Board member Angi Agle said she would have added more than a year to Borchers’ contract if she could. [Read more…]

School board to consider extending superintendent’s contract to 2020

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Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

The Oak Ridge Board of Education will consider extending Superintendent Bruce Borchers’ contract through 2020 during a Monday evening meeting.

If approved, the contract extension would take effect June 18, 2016, and continue through June 17, 2020.

Borchers was hired in April 2013, and he started two months later, on June 18. He was previously superintendent of the Rockwood School District in Eureka, Missouri. [Read more…]

Remaining middle school students to get convertible laptops in January

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More than 300 convertible laptops were given to Oak Ridge middle school students for educational use in November. About 190 are being used by seventh-grade students at Robertsville Middle School, and roughly 130 were distributed at Jefferson Middle School. The remaining laptops will be distributed to the other middle schools students in January. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

They’ve tried a pilot program at the city’s two middle schools, and in January, school officials will distribute convertible laptops to the rest of the students at Jefferson and Robertsville middle schools.

The pilot program was considered successful. It distributed more than 300 convertible laptops to about 190 seventh-grade students at Robertsville Middle School and roughly 130 sixth-grade students at Jefferson Middle School in November.

The laptops, which must be returned at the end of each school year, are part of a new program named Access Oak Ridge.

The students, grades 5 through 8, are using Lenovo Yoga 11e convertible laptops that can be used as laptops, tablets, tents, or stands. The children can use the computers for all subjects. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools employees wear jeans to work, donate $5 each to help veterans

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Submitted by Oak Ridge Schools

On November 13, Oak Ridge Schools employees took part in the 2015 “Jeans For Troops” fundraising drive benefiting the GI Go Fund, a nonprofit organization that helps veterans returning home find employment, go to college, access their health care and financial benefits, and link to housing.

During the drive, in which schools and companies from all across the country participate, Oak Ridge Schools gave their employees the opportunity to wear jeans to work in exchange for a $5 donation to the GI Go Fund.

“I am so very proud of our staff who honored military veterans and their families through this fun event,” Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.

“For generations, America’s teachers have been responsible for educating America’s children,” said GI Go Fund Executive Director Jack Fanous. “They have always been individuals that mothers and fathers could rely on to set a positive example for their children. This Veterans Day, teachers around the country have set the example to our nation’s children that this is a day to remember the men and women who have fought and died to preserve our liberties, our freedoms, and the American way of life.” [Read more…]

Game-changer: JMS, RMS trying laptops now, more students could soon

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Robertsville-Middle-School-Device-Rollout-Nov-3-2015

More than 300 convertible laptops were given to Oak Ridge middle school students for educational use in November. About 190 are being used by seventh-grade students at Robertsville Middle School, pictured above, and roughly 130 were distributed to sixth-grade students at Jefferson Middle School. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

In what was described as a “game-changer,” more than 300 convertible laptops were given to Oak Ridge middle school students for educational use in November.

The laptops, which must be returned at the end of each school year, are part of a new program named Access Oak Ridge.

About 190 seventh-grade students at Robertsville Middle School and roughly 130 sixth-grade students at Jefferson Middle School are trying the devices this month, and they could be “rolled out” to all middle school students, grades 5 to 8, in January, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.

The students are using Lenovo Yoga 11e convertible laptops that can be used as laptops, tablets, tents, or stands. The children can use the computers for all subjects.

“When implemented well, the research shows an increase in student engagement and achievement,” Borchers said. [Read more…]

School Board endorses recommendation for preschool at Elm Grove

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Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

The Oak Ridge Board of Education on Monday endorsed a recommendation to build a new preschool at Elm Grove Park. A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years, but this particular proposal is still in the early stages.

The school board received a report from the Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee on Monday and endorsed the committee’s report in a 4-0 vote. The recommendation will now be considered by the city.

There was once a school at Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge, and the committee’s report, presented to City Council and the BOE in a work session in October, recommended using that city-owned site, officials said.

“We think that after the factors we discussed, it was the most appropriate site,” Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said. [Read more…]

Digital transformation: Rollout of convertible laptops starts at Robertsville

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Robertsville Middle School

Robertsville Middle School is pictured above in this file photo.

 

The digital transformation at Oak Ridge Schools starts Tuesday with the rollout of convertible laptops at Robertsville Middle School, officials said. It will continue Thursday at Jefferson Middle School.

“This is an exciting day for Oak Ridge Schools,” officials said in a press release. It marks the “first step in the digital transformation that will impact teaching and learning in our 21st century classrooms,” the release said.

“We aim to close the digital divide and ensure access to powerful technology tools for all Oak Ridge Schools students,” the press release said.

Here are some specific plans: [Read more…]

The Arc of Anderson County has mini-conference Nov. 14

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Submitted photo

 

The Arc of Anderson County has its second annual min-conference on November 14.

Subjects include communication and conflict, introduction to adult services, the importance of work for your child with a disability, and dealing with stress (parents) and (youth with disabilities).

The mini-conference is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, November 14, at Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Read the Preschool Planning Committee report here

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Elm Grove Park Oct. 21, 2015

Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge has been proposed as a site for a new preschool, and it’s considered the best potential location. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 12:40 p.m.

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released this month.

The report is now available online. You can read a copy of it here by clicking under the link at the end of this section: VII.D. Preschool Building Committee Recommendation.

The Oak Ridge Board of Education is scheduled to consider the Preschool Building Committee recommendation during at meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, November 2, in the School Administration Building at 304 New York Avenue. You can see the agenda here.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility. [Read more…]

New preschool could cost $7.5 million; Elm Grove Park a proposed site

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Shirley Raines Presentation to Oak Ridge City Council on Oct. 20, 2015

Shirley C. Raines, citizen representative and chair of a preschool planning committee, presents a report to Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education members during a joint work session on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A new preschool for Oak Ridge Schools could cost $7.5 million, and Elm Grove Park in east Oak Ridge is among the sites where the new 20-classroom facility could be built, a planning committee said in a report released Tuesday.

A new preschool has been on the city’s wish list for years. The Joint City/Schools Preschool Planning Committee said the existing building on New York Avenue needs significant repairs, and renovations could cost about $7.5 million, or about as much as it would cost to construct a new facility.

The Preschool Planning Committee, which has nine members and three non-voting members, estimated that the new 40,000-square-foot facility could cost $6.3 million to build. There would be an additional $1.2 million in expenses for infrastructure, architects, and other fees, and an in-depth analysis by design and construction firms, pushing the total to $7.5 million, according to a summary presented by citizen representative and committee chair Shirley C. Raines during a joint Oak Ridge City Council and Board of Education work session on Tuesday. [Read more…]