Oak Ridge Today





OR Schools names teachers, TA, principal of the year

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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.

[Read more…]

CNS contributes $100,000 in community grants to 17 nonprofits

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A Consolidated Nuclear Security Community Investment grant funded a therapist for Willow Brook Elementary School in Oak Ridge.  (Submitted photo)

Submitted

Awards recommended by Y-12 employees in 2021 focused on at-risk youth, food insecurity, mental health, and aid to frontline workers

Consolidated Nuclear Security, in partnership with East Tennessee Foundation, recently awarded 17 grants totaling $100,000 to nonprofit organizations in 10 East Tennessee counties: Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Hamblen, Knox, Monroe, Roane, Scott, and Sevier.

The CNS Employee Investment Advisory Committee at Y-12 National Security Complex reviewed dozens of grant proposals this year, conducted staff interviews, and made site visits before recommending funding based on the committee’s four focus areas for the year: at-risk youth, food insecurity, mental health, and aid to frontline workers.

With the latest round of community investment grants, Consolidated Nuclear Security topped $880,000 of investment in the East Tennessee community during the last five years, a press release said.

[Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools will not require masks after governor’s order

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This graph shows the total number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools between Wednesday, Aug. 4, and noon Friday, Aug. 19, 2021. In 2.5 weeks, the number of cases increased from nine to 152. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases. Gaps in the graph above are days when Oak Ridge Schools didn’t publish data on weekends or when Oak Ridge Today didn’t collect the data. (Data from Oak Ridge Schools/Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Flourish)

Oak Ridge Schools will not require face masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order Monday allowing parents to opt out of mask mandates issued by school or health boards. However, Oak Ridge Schools will continue to strongly recommend students wear masks in schools where there is an increase in confirmed COVID cases or evidence of the virus being transmitted in the building.

Before the governor’s order, Oak Ridge Schools had required masks at three schools: Jefferson Middle School, Robertsville Middle School, and Willow Brook Elementary School. Now, the use of masks is strongly encouraged in those schools but not required. All three schools have reported more than 20 COVID cases each.

The governor’s order allowed parents and guardians to use a written notification to opt out of mask mandates for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Some parents and government officials supported the order, while others, including doctors and parents, opposed it. School districts in Nashville and Shelby County said they will continue to require masks. That prompted a retort from Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, who said that “the governor and the General Assembly cannot and will not allow lawful orders to be defied.”

[Read more…]

More than 100 COVID cases in schools this year, most mild. Four staff members hospitalized during pandemic.

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This chart by Oak Ridge Schools shows the total and current number of COVID-19 cases by school and by student or staff on Monday, Aug. 16, 2021.

There have been more than 100 COVID-19 cases among students and staff members this school year, with most reporting mild symptoms, and a total of four staff hospitalizations reported since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oak Ridge Schools said Monday.

There have been no student or staff fatalities since the pandemic began, the school system said.

Monday morning, there were more than 200 students who were restricted from attending school. There were 109 cases of COVID among students and staff members on Monday evening, mostly among students. The largest number of COVID-19 cases is now at Robertsville Middle School. Until Friday, it had been at Willow Brook Elementary School.

Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said the source of exposure to COVID-19 varies.

“A high percentage of students are unable to identify the source of exposure, while others feel the source was a family member, family gathering, or friend,” Borchers said in a response to questions Monday.

[Read more…]

69 COVID cases reported in Oak Ridge Schools

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This graph shows the total number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools between Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Thursday, Aug. 12, 2021. The number of cases this fiscal year increased more than seven times in eight days, from nine to 69. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases. (Data from Oak Ridge Schools/Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Flourish)

Sixty-nine cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Oak Ridge Schools this fiscal year. Sixty of those cases have been reported in the past eight days, since Wednesday, August 4. Two dozen cases were reported in the past two days. Students have been back in school about two weeks.

Three schools have had more than 10 cases each, and one, Willow Brook Elementary School, has had more than 20. Willow Brook is the only school where face masks are required.

The largest number of cases is at Willow Brook, where 23 COVID cases have been reported. Some are no longer considered current. Current cases include 16 student infections and two staff member infections.

Robertsville Middle School has had the second-highest number of cases with 17 total. Thirteen are current student cases, and one is a current staff case.

Jefferson Middle School has the third-largest number of cases with 11 total. Ten of those are current student cases.

[Read more…]

COVID cases quintuple in schools in one week

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This graph shows the total number of COVID-19 in Oak Ridge Schools by school between Wednesday, Aug. 4, and Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. Schools not shown have reported no COVID cases. The number of cases in the school system quintupled in one week. There were nine total cases in the schools on Wednesday, Aug. 4, and five times as many, 45, on Tuesday, Aug. 10. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases. (Data published by Oak Ridge Schools/Chart by Oak Ridge Today using Flourish)

The number of COVID-19 cases quintupled in one week in Oak Ridge Schools. There were nine total cases in the schools on Wednesday, August 4. There were five times as many, 45, on Tuesday, August 10. Total cases include both current cases and recovered, and they include both student and staff cases.

Almost half of the school system’s total cases, 20, have been at Willow Brook Elementary School. Sixteen of those are considered current cases. Face masks are now required at Willow Brook. That change went into effect on Monday.

The next largest group of cases, 11, has been at Robertsville Middle School. Ten of those are current. No change in the face mask policy has been announced at Robertsville. With the exception of Willow Brook, face masks are optional in Oak Ridge Schools this school year after being required last year.

[Read more…]

Face masks required at Willow Brook Elementary starting Monday

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The COVID-19 case count dashboard by Oak Ridge School on Friday afternoon, Aug. 6, 2021.

Note: This story was updated at 10 a.m. Aug. 7.

Face masks will be required at Willow Brook Elementary School starting Monday as the number of COVID-19 cases has jumped in a few days from one case to 12. That’s more than half of the 22 current cases in Oak Ridge Schools.

The first case at Willow Brook was a staff member who had been infected, according to a report around Tuesday or Wednesday. On Friday, the outbreak at Willow Brook had grown from one COVID-19 case to 12. Eight of those were student cases, and four were staff cases.

“At this point in time, our data supports mandating masks for students and staff at Willow Brook Elementary School starting on Monday,” Oak Ridge Schools told families in an email Friday. “When active cases and transmission decrease, we will have the option to lift this mandate and return to making the wearing of masks optional.”

The overall number of current cases in Oak Ridge Schools has almost tripled from eight current cases on Tuesday or Wednesday to 22 on Friday.

[Read more…]

Sixteen cases of COVID in Oak Ridge Schools

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The COVID-19 Case Count Dashboard for Oak Ridge Schools on Thursday morning, Aug. 5, 2021.

Sixteen cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Oak Ridge Schools this school year. Fifteen of those cases are current, and one is recovered, according to the school system. The number of current cases appears to have about doubled in a few days, from eight to 15.

Almost half of the current cases, seven of them, are at Willow Brook Elementary School. Four of those cases are students, and three are staff members. That outbreak appears to have been reported in the past few days. A few days ago, there was one staff case reported at Willow Brook and no student cases.

Four cases of COVID-19 have been reported at Oak Ridge High School, all among students. Three of those are current, and one is recovered, Oak Ridge Schools said in a COVID-19 case dashboard posted on its website.

There are three current cases among students at Robertsville Middle School and two are among students at Jefferson Middle School.

[Read more…]

Ten COVID cases reported among students since Friday

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A graph shows the number of COVID-19 cases in Oak Ridge Schools reported by school week since Wednesday, July 29, 2020. We have defined weeks as Wednesday-Tuesday. Students were on fall break for parts of weeks nine and 11, and for all of week 10. Note: Week 14 started Wednesday, Oct. 28, so it’s a partial week. (Graph by Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was last updated at 10 a.m. Oct. 29.

Ten COVID-19 cases have been reported among students in Oak Ridge Schools since Friday. That’s the highest number of cases reported in any seven-day period so far this school year.

The 10 new student cases were reported between Friday and Wednesday. Six of the cases were reported among students at Oak Ridge High School. It’s not clear yet if the surge is an anomaly or part of a trend.

There are currently 46 students and five staff members who are not allowed to attend school because they have been in close contact with someone at school who has been confirmed to have COVID-19, Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in response to questions Wednesday.

The surge in new cases has occurred as middle schools prepare to return to classes five days per week starting Monday.

Borchers has said about 80 percent of COVID-19 cases in the schools were due to activities outside of school. On Wednesday, he said 85.2 percent of the student cases in Oak Ridge Schools have been confirmed to be non-school related.

Borchers said the schools are not aware of any cases in which students or staff members have developed COVID-19 because they were in close contact with a person at school who was confirmed to be COVID-positive.

[Read more…]

Education Foundation to award grants April 24

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Woodland Elementary School teacher Megan Sauer is pictured above with one of her students demonstrating her 2018 grant “Communication for All.” (Photo courtesy Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation)

The Oak Ridge Public Schools Education Foundation will award more than $99,000 in grants to Oak Ridge teachers at a ceremony on Wednesday, April 24.

Oak Ridge High School’s retired math teacher and former department head Benita Albert will be the featured speaker at the event, sharing her talk titled “We’ve Come a Long Way Teachers.”

The ceremony is open to the public, and it will be held in the Pollard Auditorium at ORAU beginning at 2:30 p.m. Demonstrations and displays of some of the projects and technology funded by the Foundation will be given in the lobby after the formal ceremony. Light refreshments will be provided courtesy of Oak Ridge Utility District, a press release said.

The 2019 grant recipients are as follows: [Read more…]

Oak Ridge Schools announces district teacher of the year

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Melanie Bloomer

Melanie Bloomer

Oak Ridge Schools on Wednesday announced its district teacher of the year: Melanie Bloomer of Willow Brook Elementary School.

The nine school-level teachers of the year were announced previously.

Teachers of the year are selected competitively through five cycles: school, district, region, grand division, and state, a press release said. Teachers selected at each cycle receive local recognition and awards underwritten by local sources. State recognition/awards include a banquet honoring the nine region-level teachers of the year.

“The Tennessee Department of Education has encouraged us to recognize 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. [Read more…]

Three ORHS students qualify for state chess championship

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Oak Ridge High School freshman Henri Scott was one of three state championship qualifiers from the high school for the state chess championship at Tennessee Tech on Feb. 16, 2019. (Submitted photo)

Oak Ridge High School freshman Henri Scott is one of three state championship qualifiers from the high school for the state chess championship at Tennessee Tech on Feb. 16, 2019. (Submitted photo)

 

Note: This story was updated at 6:05 p.m.

Three Oak Ridge High School students have qualified for the state chess championship on February 16 at Tennessee Tech University.

The three ORHS students took home trophies and qualified for the state championship during the Region 1 scholastic at Oak Ridge High School on Saturday, January 26, a press release said. More than 109 students from across East Tennessee attended that event.

ORHS juniors Justin Blanchard and Bear Moran took third and seventh, respectively, in the high school division, the press release said. Freshman Henri Scott also qualified for the K-9 championship by taking sixth in that division. [Read more…]

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