COVID-19 deaths grow by three in Anderson, Roane counties
Oakridger
Two more Anderson County residents and one additional Roane County resident have died of COVID-19 since last Friday, the Tennessee Department of Health website showed on Monday.
The death total for both counties now stands at 149 in Anderson County, as of Monday, and 95 in Roane County. Active cases of the novel coronavirus total 206 in Anderson County Monday, compared with 200 Friday, and 200 in Roane County, compared with 195 on Friday.
Across the state on Monday, only four more people had died from the virus since Sunday for a total of 10,937. Active cases grew by 1,143 across the state since Sunday for a total of 758,561. Current hospitalizations, as of Monday, totaled 1,091.
Teacher Assistants of the Year for each Oak Ridge School honored
Special to The Oak Ridger
Oak Ridge Schools has chosen the following individuals as Teacher Assistants of the Year.
In a news release late last week, the school system submitted the biographies below of each of them.
Oak Ridge Schools Preschool: Sandra Vasquez
About half of the students in Vasquez’ classroom are dual language learners. At the beginning of the year they spoke very little English, but through routine and repetition they are now able to understand instructions given to them solely in English. Little if any translation is now needed. The students have been able to learn at the pace of the rest of the class, which is a great achievement.
OR Schools announces Teachers of the Year
The Oak Ridger
The Teacher of the Year program recognizes and honors outstanding teachers in the state. As part of the process, Oak Ridge Schools seeks teacher candidates from each school in the system.
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, according to an Oak Ridge Schools news release.
Goals of the program are to: promote effective teaching practices by recognizing and rewarding outstanding teachers, engage regional teachers of the year in education policy making through the Teacher Advisory Council, encourage participation by every school in the state so that all Tennessee teachers may be recognized and rewarded, build a network of local and state corporate sponsors, provide a network for teachers to share effective practices, encourage a sens
Update on cases of COVID-19 in Oak Ridge Schools
Oakridger
Oak Ridge Schools Superintendent Bruce Borchers has issued several letters recently to schools staff and families of students to report new COVID-19 cases.
He reported one Jefferson Middle School student and two Oak Ridge High School students tested positive, and the school system learned about both on Thursday, Jan. 14.
The JMS student was last in the school Jan. 9 and the ORHS students were last in the school Jan. 5 and Jan. 11.
On Jan. 10, Borchers reported two students, one at Oak Ridge Schools Preschool and one at JMS, who had tested positive. The Preschool student was last there Jan. 7 and the JMS student was last there Jan. 5.
Oakridger
Oak Ridge Schools Preschool is now Oak Ridge Schools Scarboro Preschool, and various areas inside will honor people in the history of the Scarboro Community and the city school system.
“Scarboro, your legacy is being known,” Oak Ridge historian Rose Weaver said of the changes in an email. The Scarboro neighborhood was historically African-American. The community witnessed and participated in the integration of Oak Ridge Schools, the first such integration of government run schools in Tennessee, in 1955.
The recommendations for naming came from a committee and was approved by the Oak Ridge Board of Education Monday with two separate votes one for the school name and one for the areas honoring people.