[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6745362,"mediaKeyId","2245686-d20fb8a03c1a9f74979abda1b40edce3","parentId",2245686,"title","Blount County Board grants tenure to educators; dozens of students honored for ACT and school achievements","audioSeconds",4630,"startMs",571000,"endMs",5201000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2245686-d20fb8a03c1a9f74979abda1b40edce3&start=571&end=5201","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2245686-d20fb8a03c1a9f74979abda1b40edce3/thumbnail_571000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6745362/Tennessee/Blount-County-Board-grants-tenure-to-educators-dozens-of-students-honored-for-ACT-and-school-achievements","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6745362-ec181e6475c51325cf84cc6404390073/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155090&Signature=pAbW9gMGlieB~Hf1hYDQifJsFGz5qmYM2PaGzKt86VeiNMJ~FrqefBBTTukplxAdMI4MMk7VZfaR9hwfmMcGc5O-aiZMkzgkIyRYRNOYJMZJbqPF582PdaxTtOyXnLSplgS3I4hfS1b~27C6~0GYgruyk2aTmsUTO-T~8EKLLmBe4vuQ3-Y-pGPRVFYHLw3YIyJIDpDQ2pSp3242pwkpwYrXwC~Fx9nbnP2HOgRgqZ55w0SydN7bcRaAcpXqizQfdRmtc0ZyiH7UF0QssBs7evHAOH4b9q8wbQyRE2E-vrlvUjICZiouDkjx3SimtRAs7jROPs-Ar6eoYHm3kN4EPA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Blount County Schools","date","2025-02-07T01:12:05.687Z","article","Blount County School Board members voted to grant tenure to the educators the board recognized earlier in the meeting and heard reports from student representatives about recent school achievements.

At the start of the meeting administrators and the board recognized educators who qualified for tenure under district rules — a minimum of five years of service and evaluation scores of 4 or 5 — and invited them forward for pictures. Later in the meeting Human Resources requested formal board approval of tenure for those educators; the board approved the recommendation by voice vote.

Separately, Mr. John Young highlighted high-achieving seniors who scored 30 or above on the ACT across the district and read a long list of students by school. Student representatives from Eagleton College and Career Academy, Heritage High School, Samuel Everett School of Innovation and William Blunt High School reported on homecoming, fundraisers, FFA activities, athletics and CTE competition results.

\"Each of these members of the class of 2025 have earned a 30 or above on their ACT during their high school career,\" John Young told the board while calling students to the front. The board praised the students and educators and approved tenure for the previously recognized teachers.

The meeting also included routine business: approval of the consent agenda, an interim director contract and an approved timeline for the district director search with the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA), which will begin stakeholder meetings on Feb. 20 and aims for a hiring decision around May 1.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","School Board Meeting February 6, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Blount County School Board granted tenure to the educators recognized earlier in the meeting, and school administrators highlighted seniors who scored 30 or above on the ACT along with multiple school achievements and student activities.","taxTitle","Blount County, School Districts, Tennessee","taxId",13504,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6745365,"Blount County Schools board forms library policy committee after demo of AI screening tool",2163,2063000,4226000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2245686-d20fb8a03c1a9f74979abda1b40edce3&start=2063&end=4226","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2245686-d20fb8a03c1a9f74979abda1b40edce3/thumbnail_2063000.jpg","/articles/6745365/Tennessee/Blount-County-Schools-board-forms-library-policy-committee-after-demo-of-AI-screening-tool","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6745365-150d6543f484f6aac4434235bc72fdc7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771155090&Signature=D74ApnvOI~FIFIVVzgR6yt2GP1rf80Q8OWkjR9iMpvS8DdGXzPnFGB-LRP5ahjY6HYQRWNHLFs1K6TU7-wSl-~~s6ldgLqsy3-z1j7LHtCvwMWha6~9AVx75H6tAt74UTYFT5LHTuiL9hJiVSYoTvrr9NtR~xKSZD8A8SJO2EG-kG2ScRHOI51jfUfFT5NGeV8YgeazIe~BbfXwVUx3BZxzz05HB33~83YBtxyJBr~~b3yV3CChCACttNcxjR8L3RsqRlEoCVTHSBlgaD0slwvCZeqCs-ZUGCGCcAVIq75j3txNZsWTboNGutkRNiJTZEvF~4rJ9JPgi4hftDP4Q6Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Blount County School Board members on Tuesday approved creation of an ad hoc library policy committee after administrators demonstrated an AI-assisted screening tool designed to flag library titles for human review under the Age Appropriate Materials Act.

Administrators and school staff showed the board an automated review platform built by William Blunt High School principal Derek Crabtree that ingests district policy documents, classroom inventory procedures, the district\u0000s collection-development plan and the state law to produce five outputs for each title: a brief summary, an age and maturity analysis, an assessment of educational mission, a compliance check and a final recommendation. Crabtree said the system produces a preliminary result in minutes and is intended to triage large inventories for librarians and principals to review.

\"We ran a report earlier today. We have over 210,000 books in our Destiny system districtwide,\" Crabtree told the board, explaining why an automated triage could reduce hours of manual review. Crabtree ran two examples in the pilot: Johnny Tremaine, which the program marked approved, and Stephen King\u0000s Pet Sematary, which the tool flagged as \"requires further review.\" He emphasized the platform does not replace librarians but provides consistent, objective first-pass reviews.

Rockford Elementary librarian Jennifer Walker told the board she follows a multi-step, professional selection and weeding process that includes circulation data, award lists and multiple professional reviews. She said Rockford serves about 405 students, roughly 20 percent of whom live in households where English is not the first language, and that she has secured more than $12,000 in grants for her library. Walker described using the AI tool to triage difficult or borderline titles and said it saved hours of work.

Board members debated next steps: some pushed to refer a districtwide rollout to Mr. John Young and administrators for rapid deployment, while others said the district should form an ad hoc library policy committee to review and, if needed, clarify board policy and procedures before full implementation. At least one member pointed to recent findings of books that the district\u0000s legal counsel said violated the Age Appropriate Materials Act and urged a process that protects students while remaining transparent.

After discussion and procedural debate over a referral motion, the board voted by roll call to form an ad hoc library policy committee made up of principals, teachers, librarians, community stakeholders and board members to examine the collection-review process, suggest policy clarifications, and coordinate with the pilot program as it is tested at school sites.

Board members and administrators said the tool is already being piloted at William Blunt and that the platform can accept an entire inventory spreadsheet and flag titles for human review. Administrators noted that some aspects of the platform rely on commercially available AI (the presentation referenced a ChatGPT-based implementation) and that sharing the created GPT link currently allows staff to use the tool without additional cost; premium or alternate platforms may be explored later.

The board directed staff to proceed with committee formation and to provide principals and librarians access to the tool for pilot testing while the committee examines policy language and rollout logistics. The committee will be charged with recommending policy updates or procedures needed to support any broader adoption and to ensure compliance with state law.

\"This isn\u0000t a tool that replaces the job of our media specialists and librarians,\" Crabtree said. \"It\u0000s a resource that can support what they do, efficiently and consistently.\"","Following demonstrations of an AI-assisted screening tool to triage district library inventories against the Age Appropriate Materials Act, the Blount County School Board voted to create an ad hoc library policy committee to review collection-review procedures and coordinate any districtwide rollout.","actionData","errors"]

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Blount County Board grants tenure to educators; dozens of students honored for ACT and school achievements

Blount County Schools board forms library policy committee after demo of AI screening tool