Jobs compete with classrooms for Chattanooga’s growing community of immigrant youth
Attendance at The Howard School in Chattanooga ebbs and flows with the weather. On cold, rainy days, more children come to school. But on warm days, days suite…
Stories by Carmen Nesbitt
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Subscriber Exclusive40% of Hamilton County third graders at risk of being held back
State testing of schoolchildren begins this week in Hamilton County — and for third graders and their families, the stakes are higher than ever.
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Chattanooga high school teacher suspended without pay pending investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct
A Central High School teacher has been suspended without pay pending an investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct, Hamilton County school officials said…
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Subscriber ExclusiveHamilton County schools see increase in student weapon confiscations
It was the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre in May — which took the lives of 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School — that prompted Hamilton County…
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Bible in the Schools announces plans for $7 million endowment at annual Chattanooga luncheon
Bible in the Schools, a nonprofit that funds Bible education courses in Hamilton County Schools, held its annual luncheon Monday at the Chattanooga Convention …
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New early child care program hopes to address worker shortage in Chattanooga, Hamilton County
While the nation suffers from a shortage of early childhood educators, Hamilton County Schools and the city of Chattanooga are trying to create a solution: a c…
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Hamilton County's first school-based health clinic set to open at Howard Connect Academy
A new school-based health clinic at Howard Connect Academy is in the works — and it'll be a first for Hamilton County.
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Hamilton County teachers union holds presidential election
The Hamilton County Education Association is holding an election for officers, and voting closes Friday.
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Hamilton County first grade teacher indicted on multiple sexual abuse charges involving students
A first grade teacher at Wallace A. Smith Elementary in Ooltewah has been indicted on sexual abuse charges against multiple minors.
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Girls Preparatory students tour Chattanooga's Howard School in Leadership Exchange program
As part of an ongoing effort to expose children to different walks of life, students at Girls Preparatory School toured The Howard School on Friday.
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Hamilton County Schools officials say social-emotional coaches should help with student behavior
Hamilton County public school officials continue to lay the groundwork to hire 76 coaches to help students with social, emotional and academic development, as …
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Cheerleading and athletics fees at some Hamilton County high schools to increase by hundreds of dollars
Fees to participate in activities like sports, choir or band vary within the Hamilton County school district.
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Hamilton County Schools officials looking for new math curriculum to help address learning loss
Though Tennessee school districts usually adopt a new math curriculum every six years, the pandemic caused a two-year delay in that process
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Hamilton County Schools sued over sexually-explicit emails
A lawsuit filed against Hamilton County Schools accuses administrators of negligence after students at East Hamilton Middle School received sexually-explicit e…
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Brainerd High School principal reinstated after investigation of alleged assault on student by security officer
After being placed on leave pending an investigation into an alleged assault on a student by a third-party security officer, Brainerd High School Principal Cry…
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Hamilton County school board weighs in on budget spending, debates social-emotional support staff
It's budget season for Hamilton County Schools, and the financial decisions made in the coming months will impact students for the next year and beyond.
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Mother of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal speaks at Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy fundraiser
Lucille O'Neal, mother of retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal, spoke Wednesday at the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy Odyssey luncheon, where she discussed …
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Chattanooga's Howard School unveils state-of-the-art commercial kitchen
Culinary students at The Howard School have a new commercial-grade kitchen where they can gain real-world experience in the food service industry.
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Harrison area group petitions for charter school to combat "Marxist indoctrination"
Friends of Hamilton, a group that unsuccessfully sought to incorporate a new city in northeast Hamilton County in 2012, has launched a petition for a new eleme…
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Construction begins on the long-awaited Tyner Middle High Academy
In August 2021, Tyner Academy students staged a walkout to protest the school's poor conditions. But a year and a half later, students walked out for a differe…
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New bill may save a Georgia charter school that gives high school dropouts a second chance
In Chattooga County, Georgia, graduating eighth grade is celebrated as if it were high school graduation.
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UTC’s new accelerated nursing program aims to help nursing shortage
As the county and nation suffer from a nursing shortage, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is launching an accelerated nursing degree program to get m…
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East Hamilton Middle School principal seeks reassignment following ongoing student behavior issues
Following a slew of violent incidents at East Hamilton Middle School, the most recent being a fight Thursday between two students that resulted in one of the s…
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Hamilton County school board approves Brainerd, East Ridge school rezoning proposal
Some students from East Ridge High, Hixson High and East Ridge Middle schools will attend different schools in the fall because the Hamilton County Board of Ed…
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More than 160 teachers in Hamilton County lost stipends, but now they’re getting that money back
More than 160 teachers at Hamilton County Schools who had their stipends unexpectedly revoked will soon have their pay restored.
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Hamilton County school board rejects resolution requesting state amend third grade retention law
A proposed resolution requesting the Tennessee General Assembly amend the third-grade retention law failed to win support of the Hamilton County school board T…
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How this all-girls public charter school in Chattanooga worked to raise ACT scores
Posted in a hallway of the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy is an ACT scoreboard — of sorts — tracking the school's average composite against others in the…
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Hamilton County school board member Thurman under fire after posting rape joke online
Hamilton County school board member Rhonda Thurman, R-Hixson, has come under fire after posting a gang rape joke on her Facebook page.
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Hamilton County Schools to revisit cellphone-use policy
At Hamilton County Schools, cellphone-use policies are currently decided at the school level, but some school board members are looking to change that.
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Hamilton County school board to vote on resolution requesting state to amend third grade retention law
The Hamilton County Board of Education is set to vote Thursday on a resolution requesting the Tennessee General Assembly to amend the third-grade retention law…
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Pandemic’s problem of missing students doesn’t hit Tennessee
Hundreds of thousands of students across the nation have disappeared from public schools since the onset of the pandemic, an analysis from The Associated Press…
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Hamilton County Schools’ new strategic plan prioritizes student well-being
The Hamilton County school district unveiled a new strategic plan Thursday evening at its annual State of the System event. The plan prioritizes student well-b…
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Two McCallie students expelled after administrators discover racist video
Two students have been expelled from McCallie School after administrators became aware of a video the boys posted using racial slurs, making monkey noises and …
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Hamilton County exceeds state discipline rate for schools in latest numbers
The topic of discipline and student behavior has been the subject of national and local conversation as teachers leave the profession, some citing student beha…
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Tennessee works to expand higher education opportunities for people with disabilities
Serving people with disabilities starts by ending assumptions about what they can and can't do, Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabili…
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Brainerd principal on leave pending investigation of alleged assault on student by security officer
Brainerd High School Principal Crystal Sorrells was placed on leave as officials investigate an alleged assault on a student by a third-party security officer …
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Community weighs in on Brainerd and East Ridge school rezoning proposal
A small crowd gathered at Brainerd High School on Monday evening to offer feedback on Hamilton County Schools' plans to rezone areas of East Ridge and Brainerd…
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Hamilton County Schools introduce new student-based staffing model
As school budget season approaches -- this year with a new state funding formula -- the Hamilton County school district is taking a student-centered approach t…
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Angela Davis talks activism, communism and ‘wokeness’ at UTC MLK Day event
Human rights activist Angela Davis spoke Tuesday at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she discussed her life as a political activist and the fu…
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YMCA gym instructor who was also a Hamilton County teacher arrested and charged with sexual battery
A gym instructor at a Chattanooga YMCA location who also worked as a special education teacher at East Hamilton Middle School has been arrested and charged wit…
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Hamilton County school district works to fix sewage leak at Wallace Smith Elementary
Hamilton County Schools officials are addressing a sewage leak in the fourth and fifth grade bathrooms at Wallace Smith Elementary.
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Hamilton County School district to consider new bus contractor
The Hamilton County school district's $13 million contract with its busing provider, First Student, is set to expire at the end of June. And though the distric…
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Hamilton County teachers call on school board to restore lost payments
After unexpectedly losing special compensation they were expecting, about two dozen Hamilton County teachers attended Thursday night's school board meeting to …
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New Tennessee bill would remove class size limits in schools
Class size limits for K-12 schools in Tennessee would no longer be state-regulated under new legislation filed by Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, on Tuesday.
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Latest benchmark scores show just 38% of Hamilton County third graders are proficient in English
While Tennessee legislators are poised to revisit a law requiring students to learn to read in third grade or risk being held back, the Hamilton County school …
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How would a private school voucher program affect Hamilton County public schools and students? Here’s what we know so far
Launched this past fall in Memphis and Nashville-area school districts, Tennessee's education savings account program now has 343 students enrolled at 44 priva…
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Students and community leaders celebrate completion of new Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts building
Despite the cold, students at Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts sat outside in the school's brand new amphitheater Friday morning to take part in a speci…
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UTC, Chattanooga State partnership offers four-year business leadership degree program to working adults
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Chattanooga State Community College have partnered to create a new bachelor's degree program in applied leadersh…
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Some teachers at underserved schools in Hamilton County are losing pay
Teachers working in hard-to-staff and high-needs schools receive extra compensation for the unique challenges that come with the job.
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Hamilton County parents lose $60 million annually due to inadequate child care options, study finds
Inadequate child care costs Hamilton County $94.4 million annually in lost earnings and revenue, according to a new study by Tennesseans for Quality Early Educ…
