MNPS Security Officers File Numerous Workplace Complaints

Security officers serving the Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) system have been subject to a toxic work environment, according to the 14 complaints submitted to the human resources and employee relations departments. 

“The morale itself has been low. We had grievance upon grievance just sitting there. Not being answered. Nobody reached out. Nobody followed up,” Security Officer James Franklin Spencer III told WKRN.

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After Around 25K Truant and 6K Transferred Students, Metro Nashville Public Schools Announces It Will Resume In-Person Learning

Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) announced Monday that phased in-person learning would begin this week. The news was presented at a press conference on Monday. MNPS Board Chair Christiane Buggs, MNPS Director Dr. Adrienne Battle, Meharry Medical College President and CEO Dr. James Hildreth, Meharry Medical College Senior Vice President for Institutional Advancement Patrick Johnson, and Nashville Mayor John Cooper were present.

According to the reopening plan, special needs students at Genesis Academy and High Roads School of Nashville will return to classrooms on Thursday. Then, preschoolers, K-4 students, and those with exceptional needs may return starting February 9. Grades 5 and 9 may return on February 18, followed by grades 6, 7, and 8 on February 25. The last to return will be the remainder of high schoolers – grades 10-12 – on March 3. 

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Metro Nashville Schools Sending All Students to Distance-Learning After Thanksgiving

Citing the “the alarming increase in the spread of COVID-19,” Metro Nashville Public Schools will move all students to distance-learning after the Thanksgiving break.

The district on Monday evening tweeted, “Metro Schools is returning to all-virtual learning following the Thanksgiving break on November 30 through the end of the semester, December 17.”

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Shawn Joseph Pockets $261K Plus $10K in Legal Fees to Exit Metro Nashville Schools

Shawn Joseph

Dr. Shawn Joseph is out as Metro Nashville Schools superintendent — and you can take that to the bank, or at least, Joseph can take more than $261,000 to the bank. The school board voted 5-3 Tuesday to buy Joseph’s contract out, according to NewsChannel 5. Board members Dr. Sharon Gentry, Rachel Anne Elrod, Christiane Buggs, Will Pinkston, and Gini Pupo-Walker voted for the buyout. Jill Speering, Amy Frogge, and Fran Bush voted against the deal. Dr. Joseph did not attend the school board meeting, nor did Anna Shepherd, who was out sick. … The buyout would have Joseph earn his normal salary through July 31st, 2019, in addition to being paid for any accumulated vacation time, and potentially sick time. He would then be cut a check for $261,250. The board would also pay for up to $10,000 in attorney fees for Joseph in the defense of his license by the Tennessee State Board of Education. The board has proposed a one-year suspension for failing to reporter teacher misconduct cases. (sic) Joseph last month told the board it needed to discuss terms of his departure, NewsChannel 5 said, even as the station revealed the State Board of Education wanted…

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