NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Governor Bill Lee and Tennessee health and education leaders continued to make the case for allowing parents to choose in-person learning Thursday after announcing the launch of new tools designed to make it easier to facilitate distance learning.
Students have already returned to class in some form in at least a third of districts across the state, according to Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. Another third are scheduled to go back to school next week, and roughly another 20% of schools will be in session by the end of August.
The governor, TDOE and TN Department of Health all voiced their support for giving parents the choice of in-person classes, saying they are working to keep teachers and students safe through measures like providing supply kits to all schools filled with PPE and other necessary supplies.
"We are very proud we have prioritized both health and safety, but also promoting achievement in our schools," Schwinn said.
Lee has reinforced for weeks he and other state leaders are worried about the potential risks, such lack of oversight and intervention of child neglect and abuse, that could come from having schools go to an all-distance learning model -- despite the current risks of COVID-19 in the state. Leaders also worried about the toll the pandemic is taking on the mental well-being of students, parents, teachers and others -- saying in-person classes provide a necessary normalcy for growth and development.
TDH Commissioner Lisa Piercey said there are some positive trends emerging with the pandemic in recent days. Case averages have begin trending downward, and lab turnaround times and backlogs are improving. The number of new tests being conducted is also trending down, but Piercey said no one should shy away from getting tested over concerns of overburdened labs if they believe they have symptoms, saying early identification and intervention is crucial in preventing the disease's spread.
Piercey said when it comes to returning to school, doctors are well aware it is impossible to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in that setting-- saying it will be "inevitable" that new cases will be seen within the school system once classes resume. However, Piercey said they are "not alarmed" by that fact and supported a return to class as a mother herself, saying the risk of not being in the classroom can be "devastating and lifelong."
The TDOE also announced it $15 million in grants will be used to purchase WiFi or MiFi devices for students in need. Its expected 100,000 households will benefit from the grants.
To be eligible for funding, districts will need to provide information about the number of households without internet access. They will also need to tell officials how they plan on collecting that information, such as through family surveys.
State officials said that they contracted rates for MiFi devices and data coverage for the first semester of class. Funds will expire after the first semester and districts should plan to pick up data charges for the second semester, or otherwise develop a plan to address them.
The TDOE also launched an online tool Thursday meant to help families and teachers teach students, called "Best for All Central: Tennessee's Hub for Learning and Teaching."
Officials said the tool will be an online hub for instructional materials to be used for the academic year. They said the tool was designed to be easily accessible, searchable and free. They also said launching it was a priority to support school districts and families.
The resources in the online tool are designed to accommodate various levels of Wi-Fi and internet accessibility. Many of the resources can be used online, or downloaded and printed for later learning.
The tool also has resources to help school leaders and educators on topics including preparing distance-learning classrooms, ongoing distance teaching and remediation in a distance-learning environment. The topics include resources on building relationships, communication routines and how to help struggling students.
Officials said there are also resources to help educators and families understand Tennessee's academic standards. With "Best for All Central," users can explore student expectations for specific standards and see how standards align across grade levels.
Finally, the tool also includes videos with companion lessons on various subjects. Officials said more videos will continue to be added, and that they're meant to provide districts with weekly content on core learning areas. The videos are made by Hamilton, Overton, Fentress and Marshall County Schools.
"The goal of this project has always been to provide a one-stop-shop for excellent learning and teaching resources that will support our teachers and districts throughout the year, and the availability of this resources became even more urgent as Tennesseans navigate new challenges in education stemming from COVID-19,” said TDOE Commissioner Penny Schwinn.
The tool was created with help from Trinity Education Group, officials said. The company has a history of developing mobile learning resources.