Category: News

Manchester City Schools have announced a partnership with the Manchester Recreation Complex that will offer assistance for families needing childcare. 

On Monday, August 17, Manchester City Schools will be on the hybrid schedule. Students in grades 3-8 have been divided into “A” and “B” schedules. Students on the A schedule will attend school on Monday and Wednesday, while students on the B schedule will attend school on Tuesday and Thursday. All students will attend via virtual or distance learning on Friday.

The transition to a hybrid learning schedule creates a particular concern for families who are not able to provide learning support because of a lack of child care.

“In an effort to assist our families during this unprecedented time, the Manchester City School District is working to provide an opportunity for our students who have no access to adult supervision on the days they are scheduled for learning at home,” said Manchester City Schools.

Families with students who attend Manchester City Schools in grades 3-5 and grades 6-8 will have an opportunity to register for the MCS Satellite Learning Program. For students in grades 3-5, the district is partnering with the Manchester Recreation Department to provide space for the program. Registration information was sent home with students on Tuesday, August 11. The district also sent home information to students in grades 6-8 to measure the needs of middle school student families. Registration will be held at individual schools on Wednesday, August 12 and Thursday, August 13 with applications accepted on a demonstrated need and first come, first served basis. Numbers will be limited in order to maintain social distancing at the satellite location as well as in our facilities.”

“We know that a hybrid schedule will create challenges for everyone involved. We ask our families and community to be patient, understanding and flexible as we work through this journey together,” the school system added. 

As a reminder, the transition period begins Wednesday, Aug. 12
• Wednesday, August 12, Group A attends school in person, Group B will be provided distance learning materials to be completed at home.
• Thursday, August 13, Group B attends school in person, Group A will be provided distance learning materials to be completed at home.
• Friday, August 14, Manchester City Schools will be closed for all students.
• Monday, August 17, full Hybrid Schedule begins.

Students, staff and faculty with Coffee County School System will be required to wear face coverings beginning Wednesday, Aug. 12. This move comes after a board meeting on Monday, Aug. 10 and also comes after the schools introduced the school year just a week ago with no mask requirements. 

 “Every effort is being made to provide a safe learning environment for our students and staff.,” the school system said in a statement. “Should a parent feel that their child cannot attend school under this requirement, the district will try to accommodate those students under the parent-choice virtual option. Applications for the virtual option can be obtained at the Coffee County Schools central office in the Administrative Plaza. Coffee County Schools requests continued patience from our families and our community as we begin our school year in a safe and effective manner.”

Masks will be required of all employees, students, and visitors under the following conditions:
1. Masks shall be worn in all areas, including transportation, when individuals are not separated by at least six feet.
2. If distancing is greater than six feet, the use of masks is at the discretion of school system personnel (ex: bus drivers, teachers, administration).
3. Documentation will be required for mask medical exemptions.
4. Mask use during extracurricular activities will be under the guidance of the governing body, such as TSSAA.

According to the school system, these guidelines will be reviewed on a regular basis and continuance will be at the discretion of the Director of Schools.

As expected, Manchester City Schools will go to a hybrid learning plan on Wednesday, Aug. 12. 

There are multiple moving parts to this new schedule. Beginning on Wednesday, Group A students will attend schools in person while Group B will be provided distance learning materials to be completed from home. Group A students will attend schools Mondays and  Wednesdays, meanwhile, group B students will attend school  Tuesdays and Thursdays. While not in school, students will learn from home. 

Manchester City Schools are also in the process of securing a Chromebook for every student in grades K-8. However, a national shortage of Chromebooks is slowing that process. 

You can see the complete letter sent home Monday below:

On Wednesday, August 12, Manchester City Schools will move to a hybrid schedule. In this schedule, the following will be our operational procedures until we are able to move back to a traditional schedule:

Transition
• Wednesday, August 12, Group A attends school in person, Group B will be provided distance learning materials to be completed at home.
• Thursday, August 13, Group B attends school in person, Group A will be provided distance learning materials to be completed at home.
• Friday, August 14, Manchester City Schools will be closed for all students.
• Monday, August 17, full Hybrid Schedule begins.

Instruction
• Pre K, Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade students will attend school as normal.
• Students in grades 3 through 8 will attend on an A/B schedule.
• Families were notified last week whether they would attend Monday and Wednesday, Tuesday and Thursday, or a different schedule.
• MCS students will have access to a Chromebook. At this time, the district is working to acquire one device for all students in grades K-8. There is a current shortage of Chromebooks across the nation. If your student has access to a laptop or similar device at home (other than a phone), please consider using that device. This will help the district put devices in more homes.
• On an A/B schedule, students not attending on campus will participate in Distance Learning or Virtual Learning.
Distance Learning is learning that takes place away from the physical school setting.
Methods of Distance Learning may include:
1. exploration and discovery assignments and/or practice assignments using paper or project materials that have been sent home by the classroom teacher the day that the student was in physical attendance in the classroom.
2. student check-in administered via cell phone Remind, Google Classroom or Class Dojo with the classroom teacher.
Virtual Learning is learning that takes place using Chromebooks or Ipads.
Methods of Virtual Learning may include:
1. instruction streamed in real-time
2. academic work assigned on-line. Students should begin working on tasks assigned with periodic check-ins with the classroom teacher.
• Students in grades 3-8 on an A/B schedule will be fully distance learning on Friday unless they are on a modified learning plan.
• All students participating in Distance Learning or Virtual Learning will be required to complete all assignments and feedback will be given by the teacher.
• Daily attendance will be measured by documented student work completed in the classroom, in the virtual classroom, and/or in the distance platform.
• Students who are attending on an all Virtual Schedule will be expected to continue the program daily, Monday through Friday.

Student Support
• Students participating in distance learning will be eligible to participate in the School Nutrition Program. Each Friday families will have the opportunity to request breakfast and lunch for the days students are participating in Distance Learning. Each school will send home specific information regarding meals.
• The After-school Journey Program will continue to work with our students during the hybrid schedule. Students must be registered for the program. Students who are attending via Distance Learning may attend Journey if parents wish to provide transportation. (Students may attend Monday – Friday) Students attending virtually would attend 3:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
We continue to explore alternatives for families with students in grades 3 through 8 who need child care assistance during the school day. That information will be communicated by Tuesday, August 11.
Our goal is to work with our families and students and provide as many opportunities as we possibly can during this difficult time. As time passes, we will monitor and adjust the programs we offer to best meet the needs of our students. Thank you for your understanding and support of Manchester City Schools.

Respectfully,

Dr. Joey Vaughn

Manchester Police are asking for the public’s help to locate a person who allegedly took items from the Dollar General store on Hillsboro Blvd. and left without paying for those items on Thursday, Aug. 6. 

If you can help identify the person in the photo below, contact MPD investigator Benjamin Sneed at 931-728-2099. 

Active COVID-19 numbers in Coffee County are at 302 as of Monday afternoon, according to data provided by Tennessee Department of Health. This is a drop of 19 cases from the previous day.

Since testing began in March, 548 people have tested positive for the virus in Coffee County. Of these, 243 have recovered and three people have passed away.

Meanwhile, across the state active cases dropped by about 981 on Monday. There were 10 additional deaths across the state to bring the confirmed death total to 1,194, and 35 new hospitalizatons, bringing the total hospitalized to 5,339 since March. Over 1.7 million Tennesseans have been tested or the COVID-19 virus.

Gas prices, on average, dropped three cents across Tennessee over the last week. The Tennessee Gas Price average  is now $1.89 which is five cents less than one month ago and nearly 50 cents less than one year ago.

“As we move into the second week of the August, it is pricing out to be the second cheapest start to the month in more than a decade,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Gas prices have high potential to push cheaper, especially with many school districts planning for virtual learning. This could drive demand down in the weeks ahead as school starts at-home.”

The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas in Coffee County is $1.88, according to AAA. 

Quick Facts

· 91% of Tennessee gas stations still have prices below $2.00
· The lowest 10% of pump prices are $1.68 for regular unleaded
· The highest 10% of pump prices are $2.20 for regular unleaded
· Tennessee remains the 9th least expensive market in the nation

National Gas Prices

On the week, the majority of states saw gas prices decrease minimally – by one to two cents or saw no change at the pump. Though low, the volatility was enough to drive the national average down a penny from last Monday to $2.17. Today’s average is two cents less than last month and 49 cents cheaper than a year ago.

In the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report, gas demand fell from 8.8 million b/d to 8.6 million b/d while stocks held steady at 247 million bbl.

2020 Hurricane Season

While Hurricane Isaias did not disrupt gas prices, the 2020 hurricane season is far from over. Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) released the association’s annual August update, which revised the May forecast from 13 to 19 storms to 19-25 through the end of November. This year’s season could be one of the busiest as it has already produced a record-setting nine named storms.

Major storms and hurricanes that take crude and gasoline infrastructure and refineries offline have the largest impact on gas prices.

One positive factor for this year, U.S. gasoline supply is plentiful sitting at a 17 million bbl year-over-year surplus. If a major storm or hurricane does hit the U.S., it will be a matter of short-term shortages and how quickly gasoline stocks can get to areas of need.

National Oil Market Dynamics

At the end of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 71 cents to settle at $41.22 per barrel. Domestic crude prices decreased last week due to a weak U.S. dollar and after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic inventories decreased by 7.4 million bbl, bringing total domestic stocks to 518.6 million bbl. The decrease in total supply, amid low gasoline demand, could mean that the domestic crude market is rebalancing. Crude prices have the potential to stabilize this week if EIA’s report shows continued growth in demand alongside a reduction in supply.

The enumerators for the United States Census (otherwise known as door knockers) will finally start hitting the streets after a delay due to COVID-19.

According to Census officials, door knockers will hit the streets beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 11 here in Coffee County. If you have yet to self-respond to the 2020 Census, you can expect workers to visit your home in an attempt to get the most accurate count possible. All door-knockers will have proper badge identification with a phone number to call for verification.

You can still complete your Census online by clicking here and avoid a visit form a Census worker. You can also call in at 1-844-330-2020.

Currently, Coffee County is sixth in Tennessee among the state’s 95 counties for best self-response rate. 

With active COVID-19 cases climbing and now officially above 0.5 percent of Coffee County’s population of 57,000, all three school systems in the county are preparing to enter what will be called “hybrid learning.”

All three systems made announcements Friday stating that a “probable shift” to hybrid learning was coming soon. Hybrid learning means students will receive a combination of on-site and distance learning.

For Manchester City Schools, the system plans to likely shift to a hybrid schedule on Wednesday, Aug. 12.

For Manchester City Schools, Pre-K – 2nd grades will continue to attend school on the traditional schedule during regular school hours, Monday through Friday.

Grades 3 – 8 will move to the A/B rotation that was communicated on August 5. Students in Group A will attend in person on Mondays and Wednesdays. Students in Group B will attend in person on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Fridays are Distance Learning days for students in grades 3-8. Exceptions to this schedule have been communicated to affected families.

“The impact of going to a hybrid schedule will reach many in our community,” explained director of schools Dr. Joey Vaughn. “We are currently examining alternatives for families with students in grades 3 through 5 who need child care assistance during the school day. That information will be communicated by Tuesday, August 11.”

Vaughn added that once a change is made to hybrid learning, the case rate will need to fall below 0.5% of the population for “at least two consecutive weeks” for the district to return to traditional learning.

Meanwhile, Coffee County Schools announced Friday the move to hybrid learning on Wednesday, Aug. 12, barring a trend change to increasing active cases – and cases have only increased since then.

Much like the Manchester City School schedule, on the hybrid schedule, students in Group A will attend on Mondays and Wednesdays while students in Group B will attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Exceptions to this schedule will be communicated to affected families. Fridays are distance learning days and no students report to school. Instructions on what needs to be done while students are at home will be communicated by the teacher of record in each class.

For Coffee County Schools, there is one exception to this rule. At North Coffee Elementary, grades 3-5 will do virtual learning for the entire week of Aug. 10-14 due to staffing issues.

Active COVID-19 virus cases in Coffee County hit 321 on Sunday, Aug. 9, according to numbers provided by Tennessee Department of Health.

Since testing began in March, there have been 545 confirmed cases in Coffee County. Of these 221 have recovered and three people have passed away. This leaves 321 active cases in Coffee County.

Across the state, there were approximately 38,730 active cases as of Sunday afternoon. Since testing began in March, 5,304 people have been hospitalized and 1,223 people have passed away in Tennessee.

Coffee County now has 285 active cases of COVID-19 virus, according to the Tennessee Department of Health.

This number puts Coffee County just above 0.5 percent of the county’s population, which is the cutoff that Coffee County Schools, Manchester Schools and Tullahoma Schools announced would lead to a hybrid learning plan for the schools. The cutoff number is approximately 282.

Coffee County Schools and Manchester City Schools announced last week that should a hybrid plan be enacted, some students will attend on Mondays and Wednesdays and others on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students not in the building would participate in distance learning. Should the percentage reach 1.0 percent, all in-building learning will cease, according to each system’s plan.

“We are working with Coffee County Schools as well as Tullahoma City Schools and we will put out more information as quickly as possible,” explained Dr. Joey Vaughn, director of Manchester City Schools.

Both school systems are expected to release more information soon. However, officials tell Thunder Radio it is likely that school system’s will want to see numbers stay above the 0.5% threshold for a few days before making a hybrid transition. 

Since testing began in March, there have been 507 total cases of COVID-19 in Coffee County. Of these, 219 have recovered and three have passed away, leaving 285 active cases.