By Clare Bratten NASHVILLE, TN — Black doctors and researchers have been a part of the strategy and development of the vaccine against the COVID-19 virus according to Dr. Rachel Mehr, a doctor at Ascension Medical Group who is a Meharry Medical College graduate. Dr. Mehr said that members of the Black community who fear the vaccine for the COVID-19 virus should put those fears aside. “We have lots of Black people who have helped to develop the vaccine –Kizzmekia Corbett, PhD, is a viral immunologist at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health. She was the…
Author: Clare Bratten
By Clare Bratten NASHVILLE – Governor Lee wants schools to end remote instruction, return to phonics as a way to teach language skills and proposed remedial programs in an address to the Tennessee state legislature on Tuesday. Lee stated that COVID-19 has created a “sweeping disruption” in education, and that Tennessee’s students are “staring down record learning losses” because students have been “without the routine of learning in a classroom with classmates and with a trusted teacher.” Lee praised the 145 out of 147 school districts in the state who have resumed in-classroom teaching. The two that have not –…
By Clare BrattenNASHVILLE, TN – A stricter discipline code will now be in effect for Metro Nashville Public Schools, after a vote on June 9th from the School Board. Despite concerns from community advocates for racial justice and concerns voiced by board members Dr. Sharon Gentry and Christiane Buggs, the measure proposed by MNPS Supervisor Dr. Adrienne Battle passed during the July 9th meeting with only Gentry and Buggs as “no” votes. Dr. Battle argued that the extension of suspension from five to ten days affords more flexibility to school administrators. In the past, if a student were suspended…
Dr. Donna Whitney, co-chair of the Education Task Force for Nashville Organized for Action and Hope (NOAH) By Clare Bratten NASHVILLE, TN – At a time of nationwide protests against unequal policing of black and brown bodies, the Metro Nashville Public School board is considering a more stringent disciplinary code for public school children proposed by Dr. Adrienne Battle, director, MNPS. “Dr. Battle has proposed changes that are regressive – that increase the number of offenses for which a student can be suspended, that increases the length for which a student can be suspended from five to a potential…
By Clare Bratten NASHVILLE, TN — Every morning, middle school students at John Early Museum Magnet school are asked to talk back to their teachers. It’s a deliberate part of a teaching strategy that uses the “Socratic method” (from the Greek philosopher Socrates) where a teacher poses an open-ended question to get students to think through problems. Getting student opinions on solutions to some pretty tough problems is all part of the school culture introduced by a dynamic young principal, Dr. Darwin L. Mason, Jr. “The question can be as simple as what are the things that we can…
By Clare Bratten If you are from middle Tennessee and you’ve ever had to put off a doctor’s appointment, a screening procedure or a visit to the dentist because you don’t have medical insurance or your medical insurance won’t cover it, you might want to head down to the Municipal Auditorium on September 7th from 8 am to 1 pm. Chances are, you’ll have to wait in line. But the facility will be the site of another Medical Mission organized and funded by Ascension Saint Thomas. The mission is a gathering of medical, dental, vision and other experts and professional who…