Hamilton County Schools Summer REACH program starts this week
Hamilton County Schools' Summer REACH summer learning program begins its first session this week, focusing on reinforcing concepts from the prior school year. The second session will look ahead at the curriculum for the upcoming year.
Each session is three weeks long, with elementary students attending for full days five days a week and middle and high school students attending half days four days per week. About 6,200 students and 700 staff members signed up for the program, which will take place across 41 sites in the district.
The program began last year at the height of the coronavirus pandemic to address learning gaps from school closures in the spring.
University of Tennessee Health Science chancellor announces retirement plans
Steve Schwab, chancellor of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, announced retirement plans last week.
He worked in the Health Science Center for 15 years, serving as chancellor since 2010 and as executive dean of the college of medicine prior to that role. His accomplishments include connecting the health science program across the four UT campuses and increasing the number of grant rewards in the program.
"It has been my honor to work beside Chancellor Schwab these past few years," University of Tennessee President Randy Boyd said in a statement. "He had to be a brilliant doctor and researcher to earn his position, and he obviously is both of those. But in the role, he has proven to also be a great strategist and great leader. He is always honest and direct, has bold vision, and gets things done. The UT family, our OneUT, will always owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Steve for all he has done for each of us, for UT and our state."
Schwab will continue as chancellor through June 30, 2022, or until a replacement is found. The UT system hired recruitment firm Witt Keiffer to lead the search for Schwab's replacement in conjunction with UT's recruitment and search committee.
Summer STE(A)M Resource Hub launches this week
The Tennessee Department of Education and Tennessee STEM Innovation Network partnered to create the Summer STE(A)M Resource Hub for students, teachers and families to navigate potential postsecondary education pathways throughout the summer.
Each week, students will complete challenges that address different college, career and technical education topics such as health care, agriculture and information technology.
The program follows prior STE(A)M resource hubs, first launched last April, to engage students in exploring different career pathways.
"Continuing the STE(A)M Resource Hub model through the summer of 2021 will provide additional opportunities for students, teachers and families to experience STE(A)M learning at home," said Tennessee Stem Innovation Network director Brandi Stroecker in a statement. "The weekly activity sets are aligned to CCTE programs of study that will expose learners to career pathways that have real promise in our state. Students will also build transferrable skills like problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking that will be of benefit no matter what their interests are."
The hub can be found on the TSIN website.
Bradley County teacher named TDOE teacher of the year finalist
Sheron Smith, a teacher at Arnold Memorial Elementary School in the Cleveland City Schools district, is one of nine finalists for the 2021-22 Tennessee Teacher of the Year award.
Three finalists were selected from each of the three regions of the state - west, middle and east. These teachers came from a pool of 237 applicants and 27 regional semifinalists and were chosen by a state-level selection committee.
Criteria for candidates include teaching full time for at least three years, growth in academic gains among students and demonstrating effective leadership in the school community.
"Earning the title Tennessee teacher of the year meant I could use my voice for teachers and students across our state, and that meant a great deal to me," said Kami Lunsford, 2021 Tennessee teacher of the year and music teacher at Karns Middle School in Knoxville, in a statement. "In every community, especially Tennessee, teachers are powerful agents of support, resources, and change. This school year, the teaching profession met challenges unlike any in history, and as usual, teachers modeled for everyone how to lead, serve, and shine!"
The winner will be announced this fall after interviews with each finalist. More information on the award can be found on the TDOE website.
Contact Anika Chaturvedi at achaturvedi@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.