Inside TNSuccess: September 21

September 21, 2020

Tennessee COVID-19 Update

The following updates are from Governor Bill Lee’s press conference last Thursday:

The Department of Education announced that 90% of districts have submitted data around COVID-19 infections to the department’s dashboard. Despite the increased reporting of positive cases in schools, overall positive cases have decreased to 400 in students and 197 in staff across the state.
The Department of Health announced three new initiatives around the resumption of long-term care facility visitations. The first initiative involves expanding visitation options, which also allows for facilities to implement an essential caregiver program. The second initiative allows enhanced resident interactions, which allows for communal social activities and visits by non-healthcare personnel such as barbers and beauticians. The third initiative establishes the Tennessee COVID-19 Long-Term Care Task Force to develop and implement new policy solutions to address immediate and future issues impacting longterm care facilities during the pandemic. Additional information can be found in the Department of Health’s press release here.

TN Legislative Corner

The Tennessee House Education Committee is slated to receive an update this Tuesday and Wednesday to hear how schools are faring in the midst of the pandemic. Chairman Mark White invited superintendents from across the state to address schools re-opening this fall as well as the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE). Discussions will center around issues with online learning such as access to broadband, TDOE’s role, and what’s involved in the process of adjusting school during the pandemic. Get more details on these hearings here.

Celebrating Our Tristar Reads’ Team Leaders

Despite the ups and downs of this nontraditional summer, we want to extend our thanks to those of you who participated in our summer reading scholarship program, Tristar Reads — especially our Team Leaders! This past week we visited Team Leaders in Dickson, Tennessee, and we wanted to acknowledge and celebrate those leaders today.

Ann Cothron from White Bluff Elementary School

Tomorrow is National Voter Registration Day

September 22 is National Voter Registration Day! At Tennesseans for Student Success, we stand at the intersection of education policy and political engagement. That’s why annually, we provide voters with a clear way to understand how their elected officials vote to support Tennessee kids in our SuccessCard.

Tennessee has made historic gains by establishing rigorous academic standards, an assessment aligned to those standards, accountability for everyone involved in student success, public choices in education, innovation, and keeping economic opportunity for all students in mind. Now more than ever, we must do more to support and advance these foundational priorities for Tennessee’s students and continue to fight for student success.

At TSS, we believe education is the most important issue at the ballot box. Make sure you register to vote today!

Rural Tennessee Receives $10M on Broadband

Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced an investment of nearly $10 million to provide broadband internet service in Benton, Giles, and Lincoln counties. The investment will connect an estimated 1,658 rural households to high-speed broadband, providing internet access to more than 4,000 Tennesseans. These funds are in addition to Gov. Bill Lee’s $61 million investment of CARES Act funding in broadband expansion, announced last month. Read more about this incredible investment here.

Inside TNSuccess