WBBJ TV
June 9, 2021
NASHVILLE, Tenn. The Tennessee Department of Education has announced their statewide Accelerating TN 2021 tour, which will visit 50 school districts over three weeks to look at summer learning in Tennessee.
According to a news release, Department of Education members, elected officials and partners will be able to learn more about what schools in the state are doing to accelerate achievement.
Those participating in the bus tour will visit more than one-third of Tennessee’s school districts and their summer learning camps, after-school STREAM mini-camps, and Reading 360 Early Reading Training, the release says.
Officials will tour the following West Tennessee schools in June:
WBBJ TV
May 10, 2021
The governor proclaimed May 12 as Tennessee School Nurse Day, according to a news release.
“With the challenges presented during the 2020-21 school year, school nurses have been true heroes, serving our school communities to ensure our students are healthy and able to continue learning,” said Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “Their contributions have been critical to ensuring in-person learning continues and we give the best for all our students.”
The day highlights school nurses who provide multiple services: assessment, planning, health education and promotion, and more.
The state shared statements from school officials, including from the Milan Special School District:
“’I’m giving you my baby,’” a parent once told Penny Schwinn, then a principal.
The Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner didn’t quite understand what she meant until Schwinn became a mother when she adopted her first child – something that shapes her decisions as a commissioner.
“’I love this baby, but I cannot give her what she deserves; I cannot give her what she needs, so I’m giving you my baby,’” the birth mother told Schwinn. “In that moment, becoming a new mom and hearing that responsibility… for the first time, it clicked for me like it never has before: parents give us their babies every single day, and there is a responsibility that we have in education to care for and nurture. There is a love that comes with that kind of work.
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WBBJ TV
January 21, 2021
MILAN, Tenn. COVID-19 has extended time away from the classroom, resulting in students experiencing a learning loss in reading and math.
Milan Special School District Director of Schools Jonathan Criswell says their students have not experienced the dramatic learning loss that Gov. Bill Lee says the state anticipated.
“Obviously there has been some skills that have been missed because of not being in school in March, April, May of last year, but our teachers have really tried to hone in on those specific skills and then address those skills within the curriculum,” Criswell said.
State legislators are now looking at bill proposals to address learning loss caused by COVID-19 closures, including literacy testing. Criswell says he believes the intent behind those bills comes from a good place, but he has concerns if those bills pass.