Latest news with #AndersonCountySchools
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Former Clinton High School guidance counselor accused of changing students' grades
CLINTON, Tenn. (WATE) — A former guidance counselor is facing charges connected the grade manipulation at Clinton High School that resulted in two teachers being fired in May 2024. According to an arrest warrant, Carrie Jones Jenkins is facing two counts of destruction or tampering with government records, stemming from alleged incidents that took place in the 2022 and 2023 school years. Both charges are Class E felonies. Knoxville City Council approves violence reduction contract with California-based group The affidavits of complaint within the arrest warrant, Jenkins is accused of changing one student's 'F' grade in a class to a 'D' during the 2022 school year, and changing another student's grade of '48' to a '90' in a class. On June 24, 2024, Jenkins submitted a letter of resignation, according to a spokesperson with Anderson County Schools. Jenkins' attorney reached out to 6 News to provide a statement on her arrest 'for her work as a guidance counselor at Clinton High School.' Mrs. Jenkins is an upstanding and dedicated community member of Clinton. She has lived here her entire life and has invested more than 20 years in the school system. She is a loving mother, supportive wife and friend and proud to call Clinton her home. We absolutely refute the alleged charges against Mrs. Jenkins and look forward to clearing her name. We welcome transparency through this process as more details emerge. Attorney Matt Ooten, representing Carrie Jenkins Father of accuser in case of teacher charged with rape speaks out on victim advocacy On May 9, 6 News reported that charges had been filed against one of the two Clinton High School teachers fired in connection to the grade manipulation investigation. Clay Daniel Turpin is facing 22 felony counts of destruction or tampering with government records. The second teacher who was fired, Rachel Jones, is listed as a witness in both Jenkins' and Turpin's cases. In April 2024, Anderson County Schools shared that it was investigating possible issues related to students grades and coursework at Clinton High School. As a result of the investigation, principal Daniel Jenkins and a teacher were placed on a suspension, and Daniel Jenkins later submitted his resignation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Anderson County hoping multiday closure will reduce high rate of illness in schools
ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Due to hazardous road conditions from flooding and a surge in absenteeism caused by illness, schools in Anderson County are closed Thursday and Friday. Like a number of school districts in East Tennessee, Anderson County has recently seen an increase in illness among both students and staff. KCHD: Flu on the rise again, especially among younger people 'Wednesday, we had 32 teachers out. Whenever we don't have our teachers in our classrooms, we lose instruction time. We started looking at substitute numbers. Sometimes we may not be able to fill a class at certain schools because there may not be enough substitutes,' explained Anderson County Schools Spokesperson Ryan Sutton. 'We decided it's best to air on the side of caution. We've got these non-instructional days left. We'll go ahead and cancel school for sickness as well as the safety of our students on our buses.' It's not just one single illness— flu, COVID-19, strep throat and a stomach virus are all spreading. For Anderson County Schools, ensuring safety and health is a top priority. 'It's very important that we take care of our faculty, staff and students to the best of our abilities. We do have ionization systems in every one of our classrooms in the air conditioning where every 30 minutes we do have fresh air that circulates it into the room, which was something that we put in prior to COVID-19, which has been very helpful,' Sutton said. 'But still people are in other people's faces, that may be the contact or hugs. So we want to make sure that we keep that contact as low as possible.' Doctors urge people to get vaccinated after surge in TN flu cases In response, the county is utilizing one of their non-instructional days, out of ten built into the academic calendar each year to help prevent the spread of illness while ensuring that the students who get sick don't lose valuable instruction time. Sutton noted the school system has learned important lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to better handle situations like this one. 'We do have some ionization sprayers that spray the disinfectant on the areas and they stick to the surfaces, which will kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria on that surface. Of course, time is our best tool in that our students won't be back in the building until Tuesday after Presidents Day. So our classrooms, I would say for lack of better terms, get a moment to breathe.' ▶ See more top stories on Students will be return on Tuesday following Presidents Day and will make up non-instructional days by adding time on to normal school days to make them up throughout the year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
