NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Education has encouraged parents and teachers to log onto the state’s data dashboard that offers insight into COVID cases for all school districts so adults can make the best decisions for their kids.
As the new school year begins, health leaders are concerned cases will surge. Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital reports the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 has more than tripled in a week.
“Our goal right now is to have a safe in-person school year,” said Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn.
To do so, the Tennessee Department of Education has resumed collecting positive COVID-19 cases for students and employees from schools across the state.
“When we look at last year and the data we collected. It really had to do with ensuring families and schools were aware of students who either COVID positive or close contact,” said Schwinn.
School districts and public charter schools are asked to report data to the department of education weekly but are not mandated to do so by law.
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“It’s going to be important first and foremost that we provide information to parents, parents deserve to have that level of data about what is happening in their schools and classrooms, so they can make the best decisions for their children,” said Schwinn.
To view this data, it’s simple. Go to the Tennessee Department of Education’s website. Then search “COVID information.” Select “COVID-19 District Information Dashboard Launches Today,” then click on the blue text. That will then take you to a page that allows you to select your region and district. There, the latest positive COVID data for your child’s district should appear.
“Balancing that urgency, we have to make sure every child has access to a high-quality education while ensuring we have a safe in-person school year this year. That the primary focus of the department,” said Schwinn.
Schools with fewer than 50 students are not reported in this data.
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