HAWKINS COUNTY, Tenn. — A Hawkins County school hopes it can continue a 4-day week next semester.

Clinch School is the only school in the state to have a shortened week. The idea came after two mudslides blocked major roads leading to the school earlier this year, adding more commute time for teachers. 

Each day begins and ends with extra time to make up for the lost day. 

The school had 100% support from the community because they didn't want the teachers to leave. After three months, the shortened schedule also improved academics and helped financially. 

It didn't take long for students and teachers to adjust to the new norm of 7:30 to 3:45, Monday through Thursday. The small community of only 136 K-12 students has nothing but praise for their four-day weeks. 

"I think it's focused some of them more, they're happier because they know they get an extra day," said teacher Josh Lawson. 

"It's been positive all the way around and our morale is good," said Principal Denise McKee. 

She said the extra day at home hasn't been a burden for Hawkins county parents.

"Families here either work from home or are truck drivers or farmers."

Less time in the classroom has only improved morale to do better. "We have not regressed we have either stayed the same or improved," McKee said. 

Lawson agreed.

"I haven't seen any negatives as far as academics and grades."

Parents surveyed found the change positively impacted their child's achievement and attendance. Most would like to see the short week stay throughout the school year. 

While only temporary, the hope is to make the switch permanent. 

"This would be an incentive to attract future employees and also to add more programs because of financial savings," said McKee. "It's nice we can pilot this and others can follow our lead."

Financially, the shortened week saves money in areas like transportation, food, utilities and substitute teachers.

McKee said the shortened week can pose challenges like getting kids to activities including sporting events on Friday nights. She said the community is so tight-knit that it isn't hard for a child to find a ride if they need one. 

The four-day week officially ended Thursday as Christmas break begins.

McKee and others hope to extend it into next semester as some of State Route 70 is still under repair.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — KUB is providing free internet access to eligible student households across the Knoxville area, while its fiber internet infrastructure continues to expand.

The utility company said it launched the ConnectED internet assistance program, which provides participants with $80 per month to cover the cost of KUB Fiber internet, as well as an in-home router and other services. The gigabit internet service provides speeds that compete with most other major internet service providers.

KUB's ConnectED program provides internet access with funding from Knoxville and Knox County. It is available in some Knoxville-area communities, listed below.

To be eligible for the program, households must live within KUB's electric service area, inside Knoxville or Knox County. KUB Fiber must also be available in their area, and the households must have an income of either 200% below the federal poverty guidelines or 80% of the area median income.

Households also need to have a child enrolled in a Knox County public school, between kindergarten and 12th grade.

Participants will also be asked to share contact information, their KUB service address, proof of school enrollment and proof of income eligibility such as approval for SNAP, Medicaid or federal housing assistance.

"I have lessons that are online, that kids use their computers," said Dave Gorman, a seventh-grade science teacher at Cedar Bluff Middle School. "Covid changed so many things in terms of how we use and how we rely on technology,"

In 2020, Knox County leaders voted for every student in the district to have access to a personal Chromebook laptop.

"It created a need for students to have their own technology that middle and high schools could take home," said Gorman.

According to leaders, it also exposed the needs of students who don't have reliable Wi-FI at home. 

"We saw that was needed, especially in, you know, underrepresented, underserved areas, especially in a lot of our rural areas here," KUB said. "We saw that was needed, especially in, you know, underrepresented, underserved areas, especially in a lot of our rural areas here."

Teachers like Gorman want to remind parents that with more access to the internet also comes more responsibility. 

"But we also need to make sure that when they're at home, that they're being monitored," said Gorman. 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Michael McIntyre has autism. Watching him, man people might assume he isn't listening to Kelley Howe as she reads a lesson about the Japanese Cherry Blossom tree. When she asks him a question from the passage, Michael points to letters on a board, spelling out the correct answer. 

It’s a method called “Spelling to Communicate.” Kelley Howe is an occupational therapist and a certified practitioner of the method. She's worked with Michael for the past year.

"Michael is what I would call an 'unreliable speaker.' He has a lot of speech, but it is very loopy or scripted," said Howe. "We started to see him break out of those loops by using the board. He can use the gross motor skills of his arm to poke rather than use those fine motor skills needed for the articulation of speech."

Howe said for people like Michael, difficulty speaking stems from a brain-body disconnect. She holds a board with the 26 letters of the alphabet and coaches him. The goal is to develop his motor skills because she said pointing is proving to be more reliable than speaking. Howe said “Spelling to Communicate” has given Michael "a voice."

"Now, I can ask you anything. What do you think about the presidential election? Now, I can ask you to make a choice about where you want to go for dinner. With 26 letters you have infinite possibilities," said Howe.

For more than two decades, Michael’s parents thought those possibilities would forever be out of reach.

"He was diagnosed with autism when he was 2. He lost some language, lost some skills, lost some connections," said Michael's father, who is also named Michael. 

His mother, Jodie McIntyre, had one wish for most of her son's 26 years.

"I needed 10 minutes inside my son's head to know his thoughts, his dreams, what he wants to do, what hurts him what is going on in his head. With Spelling to Communicate, I don’t have to wish anymore. I know what he is thinking," she said.

But critics of “Spelling to Communicate” question whether it’s the voice of the person pointing, or that of the person holding the board. The American Speech, Language-Hearing Association has warned against Spelling to Communicate. The national association said it lacks scientific evidence of effectiveness. On its website, it outlines those concerns and rejects the practice.  

The McIntyres said they can’t unsee what happens when Michael is in front of the letter board.

"I think to myself, 'They clearly have never held the board.' Because for me, that was it. I did not know what letters he was going to poke. I didn’t know his answers," said Jodie. 

And now, the McIntyres said they do know Micheal's dreams and goals. They said he spells them out. After graduating from The Future program at the University of Tennessee in 2023, Michael now plans to take more classes at UT.

   

CLINTON, Tenn. — Anderson County Schools met Thursday for the first time since investigators noticed irregularities with Clinton High School's credit recovery program. A document from their board's meeting in May said Rachel Jones, under the direction of former principal Dan Jenkins, changed grades in the 2022-2023 school year.

"As the 2023-2024 school year progressed, however, it became more and more clear to me as the Director of Schools, and to other central office administrators, that something was amiss at CHS," said Tim Parrott ahead of the board's May meeting, the director of schools.

When the scheme began, Jenkins asked Jones to move a student to virtual programming and that student had "somehow" completed his 5 remaining courses in 8 days, the dismissal document said.

Jenkins resigned from his position and Jones was fired, along with Clay Turpin, for unprofessional conduct. The contracts for three guidance counselors and the head football coach were also not renewed.

Jessica Harrell, a mother of a Clinton student-athlete, said she was planning to address the board and share the experiences she's had with Jenkins. Harrell said she could not speak as she didn't sign up ahead of the meeting. 

Another community member said she called in advance to request to speak and a school board leader told her to sign up. She did not sign up in time to speak and said she was not aware of a deadline to sign up. 

In a letter she planned to read to board members, she writes, "Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins were both reliable figures at Clinton High School, each in their own way. "

In addition to her letter, more than a dozen of letters were given to school district leaders written by community members. Most voiced support for Jenkins, urging the board to reconsider his integrity.

One letter was from members of the class of 1969, and another was from a current sophomore student. A student said Jenkins created a positive environment in one letter. 

WBIR asked Parrott for an interview, but he declined. A spokesperson for the district gave a statement, available below.

The spokesperson also gave a statement about the school board's policies on giving time for the public to speak, available below.

One community member said although they weren't able to address school leaders Thursday evening they plan to return next board meeting.

The next meeting of Anderson County Schools will be in July.

KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Knox County Schools said they are seeing continuous growth in third and fourth-grade reading proficiency on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program exams for the third consecutive year.

On Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Education released averages of third and fourth-grade results for the ELA portion of the spring 2024 TCAP assessment. More than 43% of KCS third-graders and more than 50% of fourth-graders met or exceeded the expectations.

For third graders in KCS, 43.5% achieved proficiency, up from 42.9% last year and 38.3% two years ago. For fourth graders, 50.1% achieved proficiency, beating the previous year's 47.8% and 45.1% two years ago, according to a release from KCS.

The statewide third-grade ELA proficiency rate is 40.9% and the fourth-grade ELA proficiency rate is 46.4%, according to TDOE.

“Our staff and students have worked hard and remained focused on our four priorities and you’re seeing the results of that hard work and dedication in these results,” Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk said. “We have made a commitment to protect our teacher’s time in the classroom so they can do what they do best: deliver high-quality instruction every day to prepare every student for life after graduation. I applaud our teachers for the expertise and determination they bring to accelerating student achievement."

In 2023, it was the first year the Third Grade Retention Law took effect in Tennessee. Students must score above proficiency on the ELA portion of the TCAP or else they are at risk of being held back. If they do not meet expectations, there are options available for students.

Students with an "approaching" score must attend a summer learning camp or receive tutoring to move to the fourth grade. Students who score "below" must go to summer learning camp and tutoring to move to the next grade.

Fourth-grade students who did not meet the proficiency cut must meet their adequate growth target to move to the next grade. KCS expects to receive those numbers from the state later this month.

According to KCS, the total number of third-grade students who met the criteria to move on to fourth grade without an intervention, either because of their score or due to an exemption, was 3,202. This number is subject to increase based on decisions from the state to student appeals, KCS said.

The current number of fourth-grade students who met the criteria to move on to fifth grade without an intervention is 3,870. KCS said they anticipate the number growing as they receive adequate growth targets from the state later this summer.

“We’re pleased to share that summer learning is already underway. This is just one example of our commitment to ensure every student has a path to promotion," Dr. Keith Wilson, Assistant Superintendent of Academics, said. “We are encouraged by and proud of these results and will continue to work diligently to build literacy proficiency in every student..”

JC Bowman, executive director of the Professional Educators of Tennessee, released a statement on the results below: