McMinn County Schools

Last updated

McMinn County Schools
Address
3 South Hill Street
Athens
, Tennessee
United States
Coordinates 35°26′29″N84°35′41″W / 35.44131°N 84.59467°W / 35.44131; -84.59467
District information
GradesPreK–12 [1]
Director of SchoolsLee Parkison
Schools9
NCES District ID 4702820 [1]
Students and staff
Students5,493 [1]
Teachers343 (FTE) [1]
Other information
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

McMinn County School District or McMinn County Schools is a school district headquartered in Athens, Tennessee. [2]

Contents

Most of McMinn County is zoned to the district for all grade levels. Residents of Athens and Etowah however have separate school districts for PreKindergarten through 8th grade, but attend McMinn County Schools-operated facilities for grades 9–12. [3]

In 2020, the district had 5,493 students. [1] It had two high schools, seven middle schools, seven elementary schools, and seven preschools. [4]

The demographics of the county are that as of 2019 it was 92% white, 3% Hispanic or Latino, and 2% black. [5] 19.4% of families had an income that was below the poverty level, and 27.7% of families were receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. [5] A total of 52.6% of the population had a high school education or less. [5]

As of January 2022 the Director of Schools is Lee Parkison. [6] [7]

Student performance

As of 2022, a total of 31% of elementary school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 40% tested did so for math. Also, 31% of middle school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 40% did so for math. Furthermore 34% of high school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 22% did so for math. [4]

History

The 1870 Tennessee constitution prevented black and white children from attending the same public schools, barring integration. [8] [9]

In 1873 an election was held on the question of whether to have a school tax, and the proposal was voted down. As a result, the county had no schools other than some subscription schools. Subsequently, however, a new school law was passed. [10]

In 1875, McMinn County had 56 white schools and 10 "colored" schools. The schools taught for an average of three and a half months each year. The County Superintendent praised the focus on orthography at the schools. [10]

In the 1920s, the majority of blacks in McMinn County attended school at the Rosenwald School Building Program's schools at Athens, East Etowah, West Etowah, and Union. [11]

In February 1942, Lake Robinson became the superintendent. [12]

In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education , in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality, marked the beginning of the end for Tennessee's African-American high schools. It took about 15 years for high school integration to work its way throughout Tennessee. Cooke High School in Athens in McMinn County was one of the African-American schools that closed down as a result of integration. [13]

The 1956 Tennessee educational census reported fewer than 100 school-age Negroes in McMinn. [8]

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, Tennessee began to integrate schools. [14]

A 1999 Tennessee state study of Tennessee schools found that McMinn County Schools teacher salaries were 110% of the state median (and Athens City teacher salaries were 122% of the state median), on a Tennessee Teacher Cost Index basis, ranking it in the top 17% in the state. [15]

Parkinson became the head of the school system in 2018. [6]

Maus book controversy

Spiegelman visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1979 as research for Maus; his parents had been imprisoned there. Auschwitz entrance.JPG
Spiegelman visited the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1979 as research for Maus ; his parents had been imprisoned there.

In January 2022 the school board, in a 10-0 decision, removed the graphic novel about the Holocaust Maus , the only graphic novel ever to win a Pulitzer Prize, from its curriculum for 8th grade English classes. The board in doing so overrode a Tennessee state curriculum review that had in contrast approved the teaching of the book. According to the school district, the reasons that it removed the book were “unnecessary” profanity (they focused on some bad words, such as "damn"), [16] depictions of nude mice, murder, and suicide, and what the board deemed the values of the community; in addition, a board member pointed out that at one time in the past the author of Maus had drawn cartoons for Playboy magazine. [7] A former teacher who spoke at the meeting observed, in contrast, that “there is nothing pretty about the Holocaust, and for me this was a great way to depict a horrific time in history.” This decision to bar the teaching of the book occurred in proximity to Holocaust Remembrance Day, and during various attempts to remove reading material from other school districts.

Author Art Spiegelman criticized the move, describing it variously as baffling, "Orwellian", and “daffily myopic.” [17] The board's decision was covered by media in the United States, Europe, and Israel. [18] Spiegelman, whose parents survived the Auschwitz concentration camp, also observed that he got the impression that the board members were asking, “Why can’t they teach a nicer Holocaust?” [19]

The Tennessean noted the swelling of significant backlash from politicians, journalists, organizations, and others. [20] Tennessee State Representative John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville), criticizing the board's action, said "Books are being stripped out of public libraries that give detailed personal accounts from survivors and about victims of the Holocaust." [21] Tennessee's United States Representative Jim Cooper (D-Nashville), called the decision "outrageous" and "really shameful." In addition, Tennessee's United States Representative Steve Cohen (D-Memphis), condemning the book's removal, said he hoped to see the school board's decision reversed. [20] Tennessee Wesleyan University librarian Alex Sharp, in McMinn County, said that banning the book because "[b]ecause it has eight swear words? Okay, I'm sorry. But children see more than eight swear words in one TikTok video nowadays." [22]

Following the board's banning of the book from its curriculum, the book became an Amazon best-seller. [23] On 28 January 2022, it was # 1 in the categories of fiction satire, and comics and graphic novels, and # 7 overall for all books (as Maus 1 was # 5 overall for books). [10] Neither book was in the top 1,000 a week prior. [24] An Episcopal church in the county announced that it would conduct a discussion of Maus on 3 February, which would include a discussion about the complicity of many churches in the extermination of Jews during the Holocaust. [25]

The owner of the Nirvana Comics bookstore 15 miles (24 km) away from McMinn County in Knoxville, Tennessee, offered loans of "The Complete Maus" to any student, and donors sent him $30,000 to help fund his efforts. [23] He said: "We’re getting requests from parents all over the country, even Europe, asking for copies," and believed the surprisingly strong response reflected the view that "That’s not what we do in America: ‘We don’t ban books.’ It triggered a very American response." [10]

Schools

High schools
Elementary schools
Other
Former schools

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMinn County, Tennessee</span> County in Tennessee, United States

McMinn County is a county in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in East Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,794. The county has a total area of 432 square miles (1,120 km2). Most of the county is within the Ridge and Valley area of the Appalachian Mountains. Its county seat is Athens. McMinn County comprises the Athens, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athens, Tennessee</span> City in Tennessee, United States

Athens is the county seat of McMinn County, Tennessee, United States and the principal city of the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area has a population of 53,569. The city is located almost equidistantly between the major cities of Knoxville and Chattanooga. The population was 14,084 at the 2020 census. The population of the zipcode area is at 23,726

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calhoun, Tennessee</span> Town in Tennessee, United States

Calhoun is a town in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was estimated at 536 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Englewood, Tennessee</span> Town in Tennessee, United States

Englewood is a town in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,550 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etowah, Tennessee</span> City in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States

Etowah is a city in McMinn County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The population was 3,613 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art Spiegelman</span> American cartoonist (born 1948)

Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman, professionally known as Art Spiegelman, is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel Maus. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines Arcade and Raw has been influential, and from 1992 he spent a decade as contributing artist for The New Yorker. He is married to designer and editor Françoise Mouly and is the father of writer Nadja Spiegelman. In September 2022, the National Book Foundation announced that he would receive the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

<i>Maus</i> Graphic novel by Art Spiegelman

Maus, often published as Maus: A Survivor's Tale, is a graphic novel by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman, serialized from 1980 to 1991. It depicts Spiegelman interviewing his father about his experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. The work employs postmodern techniques, and represents Jews as mice and other Germans and Poles as cats and pigs respectively. Critics have classified Maus as memoir, biography, history, fiction, autobiography, or a mix of genres. In 1992 it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riceville, Tennessee</span> Census-designated place in Tennessee, United States

Riceville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in McMinn County, Tennessee, United States. It is located some 60 miles southwest of Knoxville, and midway between Knoxville and Chattanooga, and in closer proximity, between Athens and Calhoun. Its population was 688 as of the 2020 census.

<i>Breakdowns</i> (comics) Anthology of comics by Art Spiegelman

Breakdowns is a collected volume of underground comic strips by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman. The book is made up of strips dating to before Spiegelman started planning his graphic novel Maus, but includes the strip "Maus" which presaged the graphic novel, and "Prisoner on the Hell Planet" which is reproduced in Maus. The original edition of 1977 is subtitled From Maus to Now; the expanded 2008 edition is subtitled Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Sexton</span> American politician (born 1970)

Cameron A. Sexton is an American politician from Tennessee. A Republican, he has been a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives for the 25th District since 2011, and has been the Speaker of the state House since 2019. Before becoming Speaker, Sexton was Majority Caucus Chairman.

Maggie Smith is an American poet, freelance writer, and editor who lives in Bexley, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McMinn Central High School</span> American public high school

Central High School of McMinn County, more commonly known as McMinn Central High School (MCHS) or Central High School is a public high school located in unincorporated McMinn County, Tennessee. It has an Englewood postal address but is not in the town limits. Its mascot is the Charger, and it is one of two high schools in the McMinn County School System, the other being McMinn County High School with which it maintains a rivalry.

Malcolm Paul Cantrell was a Democratic Tennessee politician and state senator. He was known for his political "machine" centered in McMinn County, Tennessee.

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Etowah City Elementary School District is a school district of Etowah, Tennessee. It operates a single K-8 school, Etowah Elementary School a.k.a. Etowah City School (ECS).

Etowah High School was a public high school in Etowah, Tennessee. It was a part of McMinn County Schools.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for McMinn County School District". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "Home". McMinn County Schools. Retrieved 28 January 2022. McMinn County School District 3 South Hill Street Athens, Tennessee TN 37303
  3. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: McMinn County, TN" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Mcminn County". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 "ACS School District Profile 2015-19". nces.ed.gov.
  6. 1 2 Copeland, Ashley (21 September 2018). "Parkison elected McMinn County Director of Schools". The Daily Post-Athenian. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  7. 1 2 Gorman, Steve (28 January 2022). "Tennessee school board bans Holocaust-themed graphic novel 'Maus'". Reuters . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  8. 1 2 Knaff, Sheila (May 1998). "A Case Study of the Effects of Integration on Two Black High Schools in East Tennessee". Electronic Theses and Dissertations– via Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University.
  9. ↑ "School Desegregation in Tennessee" (PDF). United States Commission on Civil Rights . April 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Annual Report of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Tennessee for the Scholastic Year Ending Aug. 31, 1874. Tennessee Department of Public Instruction. 1875.
  11. ↑ Van West, Carroll (January 1999). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form - Beth Salem Presbyterian Church". United States National Park Service. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  12. ↑ "Created a new school board...". Chattanooga Daily Times . Chattanooga, Tennessee. 16 February 1941. p. 2. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Carey, Bill (2 February 2020). "African-American High Schools Now Long Gone". The Tennessee Magazine. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  14. ↑ "Tennessee State Board of Education Records 1815-1958" (PDF). Tennessee State Library and Archives. p. 5. Retrieved 28 January 2022. 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed by the U.S. Congress Tennessee begins to integrate public schools
  15. ↑ Green, Harry A.; Lippard, Cliff; Robertson, Kim (April 1999). "Classroom Teacher Salary Disparity Among Tennessee's School Systems" (PDF). Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  16. ↑ Montgomery, Blake; Siegel, Harry (26 January 2022). "School Board Bans Pulitzer-Winning Graphic Novel About the Holocaust". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  17. ↑ Mangan, Dan (26 January 2022). "Tennessee school board bans Holocaust graphic novel 'Maus' – author Art Spiegelman condemns the move as 'Orwellian'". CNBC . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  18. ↑ Wegner, Rachel (27 January 2022). "Tennessee school board's removal of Holocaust book 'Maus' draws international attention". The Tennessean . Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  19. ↑ Gross, Jenny (27 January 2022). "School Board in Tennessee Bans Teaching of Holocaust Novel 'Maus'". The New York Times.
  20. 1 2 Fronczek, Mel (27 January 2022). "Defense of 'Maus' erupts online after McMinn County schools remove it from curriculum". Nashville Tennessean. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  21. ↑ Harris, Gerald (27 January 2022). "Tennessee lawmakers react to McMinn County schools removal of prominent Holocaust book from curriculum". WKRN. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  22. ↑ Keenehan, Katelyn (27 January 2022). "Community upset over McMinn Co. BOE decision to ban Holocaust book from curriculum". WBIR-TV. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  23. 1 2 Mangan, Dan (28 January 2022). "'Maus' is an Amazon bestseller after Tennessee school ban – author Art Spiegelman compares board to Putin". CNBC.
  24. ↑ "Sales soar for 'Maus' after its banning in Tennessee". WNYT NewsChannel 13. 28 January 2022.
  25. ↑ "Tennessee school board's removal of 'Maus' sparks local backlash, book giveaway". Times of Israel.
  26. ↑ "Home". McMinn Central High School . Retrieved 28 January 2022. Central High School 145 County Road 461 Englewood, Tennessee 37329 - It is not in the Englewood town limits, despite the "Englewood, Tennessee" postal address.
  27. ↑ "Home". E.K. Baker Elementary School. Retrieved 28 January 2022. E.K. Baker Elementary 1044 County Road 172 Athens, Tennessee 37303 - It is not in the Athens city limits, despite the "Athens, Tennessee" postal address.
  28. ↑ "Home". Mountain View Elementary School. Retrieved 28 January 2022. Mountain View Elementary 145 County Road 627 Etowah, Tennessee 37331 - It is not in the Etowah city limits, despite the "Etowah, Tennessee" postal address.
  29. ↑ "Home". Rogers Creek Elementary School. Retrieved 28 January 2022. Rogers Creek Elementary 137 County Road 82 Athens, Tennessee 37303 - It is not in the city limits, despite the "Athens, Tennessee" postal address.
  30. 1 2 3 "First Central High class came together from Englewood, Etowah, and Cook high schools". Daily Post-Athenian . 6 June 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
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