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After break, schools will continue mix of in-person, staggered schedules

Posted at 2:39 pm September 22, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bruce Borchers
Bruce Borchers

After fall break, Oak Ridge Schools will continue using in-person instruction for students from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade and staggered schedules for students in fifth grade to 12th grade, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said Tuesday.

The younger students have five days of in-person instruction per week, while the older students have staggered schedules: two days of in-person instruction and three days of online learning per week.

In a letter to staff members and families on Tuesday, Borchers said school staff and students have kept the spread of COVID-19 low during the first term using contact tracing, isolation, quarantine, and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; practicing good personal hygiene such as hand washing; maintaining physical distances and wearing face masks; and providing or being able to use hand sanitizing stations and clean facilities.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, ConnectOR, COVID-19, in-person instruction, Oak Ridge Schools, online-only, staggered schedules

Updated: ORHS principal leaving Oak Ridge, going to Greeneville

Posted at 12:13 am September 16, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. Sept. 17.

Oak Ridge High School Principal Martin McDonald announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he is leaving his job at ORHS and starting a new job at Greeneville High School in East Tennessee.

On Wednesday, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said McDonald will continue at ORHS through the end of the first term and will transition to his new role in Greeneville during the first weeks of October.

Neither McDonald nor Oak Ridge Schools said why the principal is leaving Oak Ridge.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Education, Front Page News, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, Greeneville High School, Martin McDonald, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Oak Ridge celebrating 65th anniversary of school desegregation

Posted at 4:36 pm September 5, 2020
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Four of the “Oak Ridge 85” students at a recent music event. From left to right are Larry Gipson (Oak Ridge 85), Eric Dozier (musician), Deloise Mitchell (Oak Ridge 85), Emma McCaskill (Oak Ridge 85), and Mary Guinn (Oak Ridge 85). (Photo by Barbara McCord)

Oak Ridge is celebrating the 65th anniversary of its school desegregation this weekend.

“Sixty-five years ago this September, 85 brave and dedicated young African American students entered all-white classrooms in the Oak Ridge High School and the Robertsville Junior High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in a historic school system desegregation,” organizers said in a press release.

It wasn’t the first public school desegregation in the nation, but organizers said it was the first public school desegregation in the Southeast.

“As such, it challenged the racist and sometimes dangerous Jim Crow culture,” the press release said. “This desegregation stands as an important milestone in American civil rights history.”

The anniversary events are being held with the Oak Ridge school system. Public participation in some events had to be scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Courts, Education, Federal, Front Page News, Government, History, History, K-12, Slider, United States Tagged With: desegregation, Emma McCaskill, Harold Middlebrook, Larry Gipson, Margret Strickland Guinn, Martin McBride, Mary Ellen Mahone Bohanon, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge 85, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools, public school desegregation, Robertsville Junior High School, Rose Weaver, school desegregation

Second COVID-19 case reported at Glenwood

Posted at 10:22 pm August 16, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Glenwood-Elementary-School
Glenwood Elementary School in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

A second person at Glenwood Elementary School has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday. It’s the second case reported at the school on Sunday.

The person involved in the second case was last at the school on Wednesday, according to a letter to families from Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers. The school system learned of the positive test this weekend, he said.

Students and staff members who were potentially exposed have all been notified, and they will quarantine in accordance with Tennessee Department of Health guidelines, Borchers said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Glenwood Elementary School, Oak Ridge Schools

Person at Glenwood tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 7:48 pm August 16, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Glenwood-Elementary-School
Glenwood Elementary School in Oak Ridge is pictured above.

A person at Glenwood Elementary School has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday.

The person was last at the school on Thursday, according to a letter to families from Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers. The school system learned of the positive test this weekend, he said.

Students and staff members who were potentially exposed have all been notified, and they will quarantine in accordance with Tennessee Department of Health guidelines, Borchers said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12 Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Glenwood Elementary School, Oak Ridge Schools

COVID cases reported at Woodland, Jefferson

Posted at 11:50 am August 14, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

COVID-19 cases have been reported at Woodland Elementary School and Jefferson Middle School, school officials said this week.

The COVID-19 case at Woodland Elementary School was reported Thursday morning, and the case at Jefferson Middle School was reported Friday morning.

They are the seventh and eighth overall COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools and the sixth and seventh since July 15.

Oak Ridge Schools learned Thursday that a person at Woodland Elementary School had tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families on Thursday. The person has not been at Woodland since Friday, July 31, because he or she quarantined after a possible non-school exposure, Borchers said.

The potential exposure to students or staff was “extremely low,” the superintendent said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge Schools, Woodland Elementary School

After May diagnosis, ECC employee still tests positive for COVID, but cleared to return to work

Posted at 3:10 pm August 7, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A staff member at Oak Ridge Schools Extended Child Care was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late May, and on Monday, August 3, the employee still tested positive, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said.

A physician has cleared the staff member to return to work, Borchers said in a letter to families on Friday.

“The physician said that a person will likely continue to test positive several months after the initial virus, and that the individual is no longer contagious,” Borchers said.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12 Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, ECC, Extended Child Care, Ingrid Hamm, Oak Ridge Schools

Staff member at ORHS tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 11:11 pm August 2, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School

A staff member who was at Oak Ridge High School on Friday has tested positive for COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools said Sunday.

The school system learned of the positive diagnosis on Saturday.

“Having this report Saturday morning allowed us to implement a 24-hour closure so we could thoroughly disinfect the building on Saturday,” Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families. A second disinfectant fogging of the full building occurred on Sunday, Borchers said.

It’s the sixth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fifth since July 15.

The other cases since July 15 involved a staff member who had been at Jefferson Middle School and ORHS, a staff member at JMS, a student at ORHS band camp, and an instructor at ORHS band camp.

In an earlier case in April, a staff member who had been volunteering at the school system’s food distribution sites tested positive for COVID-19.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, Health, K-12, Slider, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Oak Ridge Schools staff member tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 4:37 pm July 29, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge High School
The main entrance at Oak Ridge High School is pictured above.

Note: This story was updated at 5 p.m.

An Oak Ridge Schools staff member who has been at Jefferson Middle School and Oak Ridge High School has tested positive for COVID-19, the school system said Wednesday.

It’s the fifth overall COVID-19 case in Oak Ridge Schools and the fourth in the past two weeks, since July 15.

The schools learned of the positive test result for the staff member on Wednesday. The staff member, who has not been publicly identified, had been at JMS and ORHS last Friday.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Oak Ridge Schools announce third COVID-19 case

Posted at 4:25 pm July 28, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge Schools on Tuesday announced a third COVID-19 case as schools prepare to resume this week.

A staff member at Jefferson Middle School has tested positive for the new disease, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to families and staff members.

The staff member, who will not be publicly identified, took a precautionary test, immediately started a voluntary quarantine, and learned of the positive test result Tuesday morning, Borchers said.

The superintendent’s letter did not say whether the staff member has had symptoms of COVID-19.

It’s the third COVID-19 case at Oak Ridge Schools in the past two weeks. The other two cases were of an instructor and student at Oak Ridge High School band camp.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: band camp, Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Jefferson Middle School, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Band camp student tests positive for COVID-19

Posted at 2:36 pm July 25, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A student at the Oak Ridge High School band camp last week tested positive for COVID-19 this week, Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a letter to community members Wednesday.

The student learned of the positive test result Tuesday night. The student did not report any symptoms before learning of the diagnosis, Borchers said. But before learning of the positive test result this week, the student had been in contact with other students and staff members during band camp through Tuesday of last week, Borchers said.

The student’s positive test result this week follows a positive test result of a band camp instructor last week. Neither the student nor the instructor are being publicly identified.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Top Stories Tagged With: band camp, Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Schools

Updated: Oak Ridge Schools will have staggered classes at middle schools, high school

Posted at 3:19 pm July 23, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Note: This story was updated at 2 p.m. July 24.

Oak Ridge Schools will now have staggered classes for students at its two middle schools and one high school. Those students will now attend classes two days per week and then have online classes the other three days.

Elementary school students will attend classes five days per week.

The new plan was unanimously approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education during a 45-minute special meeting Thursday afternoon.

The plan had been presented to the school board by Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: COVID-19, Education, Education, Front Page News, Health, K-12, Slider Tagged With: Bruce Borchers, COVID-19, Oak Ridge Board of Education, Oak Ridge Schools, school board

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Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

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