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Guest column: Oak Ridge…a story of excellence

Posted at 5:39 pm August 1, 2014
By Bruce Borchers 1 Comment

Bruce Borchers

Bruce Borchers

Let me first state how thankful I am to be part of the Oak Ridge community. I have not worked in, nor do I know of, a community and school district that has a stronger board of education or staff that is focused on students. There are many reasons and indicators of this, but one does not have to look too far to understand that the academic achievement in Oak Ridge has remained steady and/or improved despite a 30 percent increase in the number of students in poverty (over 50 percent of our students now come from a home of poverty) over the last decade. This is a true testament to the dedication of our board, staff, parents, and students.

I have enjoyed my transition both to Oak Ridge and Tennessee as superintendent and look forward to my second year in this role. I have become active in the community and am happy to be a member of Noon Rotary, the Chamber of Commerce Board, and the Methodist Medical Center Board. I look forward to participating in additional activities and offerings that this great community is so fortunate to have. My wife and I have also enjoyed a wonderful personal transition to Oak Ridge. My son will be a freshmen at Oak Ridge High School next year, and my daughter will be a part of the Pride of the Southland Marching Band this fall at the University of Tennessee. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be the Oak Ridge superintendent as well as being a father of a current Oak Ridge student.

This is too great of a community and district to let negativity infiltrate the very essence of Oak Ridge. The creation of this amazing community and the Oak Ridge Schools is too great of a story for our country (the world really) to move in such a negative direction. Therefore, I pledge to do my part to keep the conversation civil, accurate, and most of all focused on the 4,440 students that walk through our doors every day who depend on the adults to make decisions based on the needs of children and not the comfort level of adults. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns, Opinion Tagged With: administrative staff, Anderson County referendum, Board of Education, Bruce Borchers, budget, construction budget, data center, fund balance, high school debt, high school renovation, maintenance of effort, Mark Watson, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge Schools, ORHS debt, parent responsibility zone, PLC, Professional Learning Community, Race to the Top, revenue, RTTT, sales tax revenue, school board, school spending, staff compensation, superintendent, technology capital lease, transportation, Trina Baughn

Oak Ridge Schools selects Teacher Leaders

Posted at 1:38 pm March 25, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

The Oak Ridge School system has announced its selections for Teacher Leaders for the 2014-15 school year.

The Teacher Leader initiative was conceived and launched as a result of the Tennessee Department of Education’s push to create a differentiated pay scale for teachers in all counties. The department encouraged systems to either adopt a structure where teachers receive pay bonuses based on student test scores and eliminate increases in pay for advanced degrees or years of service, or adopt programs that ask teachers to take on greater responsibilities in schools.

“When presented with the opportunity to reward teachers for their dedicated and outstanding service, we decided not to get rid of our steps and lanes that reward teachers for their time and dedication to the classroom and earning advanced degrees, but rather recognize teachers that step up and take on greater leadership roles around STEM, analyzing data, and reinforcing professional learning communities,” said Bruce Borchers, Oak Ridge Schools superintendent. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Education, Front Page News, K-12 Tagged With: advanced degrees, Amy Fuqua, Andrew McDonald, Anita Morgan, Beth McCoy, Bonnie Spangler, Bruce Borchers, Carmey Sears, Catherine Ginel, Chantelle Stevens, Chloe Hughes, data, Dee Wright, Deni Sobek Elaine Vaughn, Denise Parten, engineering, Evan Parker, Glenwood Elementary, Greta Hensley, Heather Lintz, Jefferson Middle School, Jim Mansell, Jonathan Oldacre, Katelynn Olvey, Kathy Strunk, Keith Jackson, Kelly McCormick, Keys to College and Career Readiness, Kim Howard, Lars Hondorf, Lauren Blair, Leah Bailey, Linden Elementary, Lisa Buckner, Mardie Miller, Margaret Johnson, mathematics, Melissa Jeter, Michael Hickman, Michelle Scott, Mollie Johnson, Oak Ridge Alternative Program, Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge Preschool, Oak Ridge Schools, pay bonuses, PLC, professional learning communities, Robertsville Middle School, schools, science, Scott Estep, STEM, students, Teacher Leaders, teachers, technology, Tennessee Department of Education, test scores, Todd Livesay, Tom Sauer, Willow Brook Elementary, Woodland Elementary

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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