FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee's rural communities have a new lifeline to higher education. This fall, Tennessee State University will offer an Agricultural Science degree program to students in the mid-state farming community of Fayetteville.

The goal is to bring college courses to people who might otherwise be unable to earn a degree to advance their careers and farming opportunities. Dr. John Ricketts, professor of agricultural science at Tennessee State University, said it could be a game changer for the rural community.

"Forty to 60 percent of jobs in the agricultural industry go unfilled, or filled by folks that don't have any training in it,” Ricketts said. “So, it's not good for the industry, it's not good for the economy, and so there's a high demand for students with this Ag Science degree."

So far, at least 20 people have expressed interest in the program. They'll receive some distance learning, as well as in-person instruction from Tennessee State professors.

Prior to enrolling in the degree program, students will first earn a two-year associate degree from Motlow State Community College.

Lisa Smith, assistant dean at Motlow State, said supporting the community will give people in farming careers a chance to excel without having to leave the area, which in turn helps the local economy.

"They can stay close to home, without incurring a lot of possible student loan debt and a lot of expense,” Smith said. “And then with partnering with TSU here, to come to us, these students can remain in the area to complete that four-year degree."

Some financial aid opportunities are available through Tennessee Tech and Future Farmworkers of America. Ricketts said the knowledge students will receive is much-needed in the state's farm industry.

"We'll give these students in Fayetteville the same opportunities that we have here in Nashville, in terms of hands-on learning and being mentored by research scientists,” Ricketts said. “So, we kind of look at it as a total program in terms of, you'll get some lecture, but there's also hands-on, experiential learning that takes place."

Fayetteville is also close to Huntsville, Ala., where there's a growing biotech industry, and the degree program will offer instruction to support careers in that field as well.


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Special state funding for mental health staff at Michigan public schools during the pandemic is ending this year, leaving schools scrambling to find ways to keep the professionals in the building.

The $240-million grant started in 2021, as students coped with challenges, from virtual learning and canceled sports to losing a loved one to COVID. Now, districts are seeking alternatives.

Diane Golzynski, deputy superintendent of business, health and library services for the Michigan Department of Education, said the options include a program known as the School Mental Health Apprenticeship Program to encourage people to choose mental health careers by giving them financial support.

"To pay folks who need to do their supervised practice internships in order to go into this field; it's to give them a small wage, so they can actually do that," Golzynski explained.

She pointed out districts can also apply for Medicaid matching funds for all their eligible work is eligible and use those dollars to keep mental health providers in schools.

Golzynski stressed the goal is to build a comprehensive school mental health system.

"We don't want to just put professionals in the schools, we want to put professionals in the schools that the schools need, because there's different types of professionals," Golzynski noted. "It might be a psychologist, it might be a counselor, it might a social worker, it might be a school nurse."

She emphasized her department is also working with the districts on how to best use their mental health staffers.

Critics might counter it is parents' responsibility to take care of their children's mental health needs. But Golzynski countered it is often in school where these issues are flagged or acknowledged.

"It's the schools partnering with the families to help support this child, so that the child can be the best learner possible," Golzynski asserted.

Golzynski added another school mental health funding program on the table offers a per-pupil allocation to each district.


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School districts around Washington and elsewhere may have celebrated School Lunch Hero Day on Friday, a salute to cafeteria workers - but food service employees are asking for more than just a pat on the back. They're asking for a wage that keeps up with inflation.

Washington State has about 6,500 school food service workers who make the average full-time equivalent of just over $54,000 a year.

Paul Buse-Bing is kitchen manager at Pine Lake Middle School in Sammamish.

"All the positions in the school district are important, and everybody works hard. But students who don't have a proper meal aren't getting nutritious food, then they're not capable of participating to their fullest extent in their school day. And so what we do is very important," he said.

This year, lawmakers denied a request from Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdahl to give paraeducators a $7/hour pay raise; in his re-election campaign he has said he intends to seek a more broad-based increase for classified workers next year.

Buse-Bing said as the cost of living has gone up, the relatively low wages are making it hard to find enough staff.

"We go through the school year a lot of times understaffed, and we don't have substitutes or other people to fill in when people get sick or go on vacation, and a lot has to do with the pay wage. Especially with the inflation," he added.

Many school districts say they are strapped for funding and need more state resources in order to
recruit and retain qualified workers.


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It's Teacher Appreciation Week, and there's some mixed news when it comes to how well South Dakota is compensating its teachers.

According to the National Education Association's annual Rankings and Estimates report, the national average teacher salary increased about 4% to nearly $70,000 a year between the 2021 and 2022 school years.

But adjusted for inflation, teachers still make 5% less than they did a decade ago.

President of the South Dakota Education Association Loren Paul noted that teachers there saw one of the highest salary increases across the country this year - a more than 5% jump.

"And the last three years, we've seen more than what is required by the state," said Paul. "So, hopefully we can continue that trend."

Despite the increase, South Dakota didn't shake its national salary rank of 49th, at just over $53,000.

The last time the South Dakota Legislature enacted a law to increase teacher pay was in 2016, when it raised the state's sales tax by $0.005.

South Dakota's highest ranking in the report of 27th was for its starting salary, which averages $43,000. Paul said that helps bring in new educators, but doesn't do much to retain them.

"Overall salary increases are tied to retention," said Paul, "and if you're losing them off the top faster than you can bring them in the bottom, raising the average is what's important, not just the starting salary."

He said teacher retention and shortages remain nationwide issues. North Dakota and Wyoming, which both rank higher, use state revenue from the fossil fuel industry to help pay teachers.