DeKalb Jobless Rate Continued to Drop in June

July 23, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Unemployment rates in a vast majority of Tennessee’s 95 counties including DeKalb continued to drop in June, according to new data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Seventy-four counties had lower jobless rates for the month, as Tennessee continues to reopen after many businesses closed in the spring to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

DeKalb County’s Jobless Rate for June was 11.6%, down from 15.7% in May but still well above the 4.7% rate in June, 2019.

The DeKalb County Labor Force for June, 2020 was 7,330. A total of 6,482 were employed and 848 were without work.

Unemployment did increase slightly in 17 counties during the month and remained the same in four counties.

Williamson County recorded the lowest unemployment rate in June. At 6.7%, the rate dropped 0.4 of a percentage point when compared to May’s rate.

Crockett County’s rate of 6.8% was Tennessee’s second-lowest figure for the month, down 0.3 of a percentage point from May. Pickett County had the third-lowest rate at 7.2%, down a 0.5 of a percentage point.

Shelby County had the state’s highest rate of unemployment in June. Its figure jumped 1.8 percentage points to 13.2%.

Grundy County was just below Shelby County at 13.1%, which represents a 3.8 percentage point drop from May’s rate of 16.9%.

Knoxville had the lowest unemployment rate among Tennessee’s three largest cities at 9.5%, which is a 0.3 of a percentage point decrease from the month before. Nashville had a rate of 12.1%, down 0.2 of a percentage point from May. Memphis saw a 2.4 percentage point increase in unemployment between May and June to 12.1%.

Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate decreased for the second consecutive month. The June 2020 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 9.7%, down 1.3 percentage points from May’s revised rate of 11%.

Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment dropped by 2.2 percentage points in June, going from 13.3% to 11.1%.

July 23, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

For the past month the DeKalb County School District has been seeking a response from parents on whether they want remote learning for their children due to COVID-19 with the reopening of schools on August 3.

Of the district’s 2,873 student enrollment, a total of 533 (18.6%) have been signed up for remote learning as of Tuesday, July 21. For the five individual schools, the numbers break down as follows:

*DCHS: 824 enrollment (143 remote learners) 17.4%

*DeKalb Middle School: 578 enrollment (109 remote learners) 18.9%

*Northside Elementary School: 573 enrollment (134 remote learners) 23.4%

*Smithville Elementary School: 502 enrollment (83 remote learners) 16.6%

*DeKalb West School: 396 enrollment (64 remote learners) 16.2%

Unlike this past school year, the school district will use the same digital platform for all grade levels and parents should be prepared to understand how to make use of it and to practice its operation with their children.

Director Patrick Cripps has announced that all DeKalb County students in grades K-12 (almost 3,000) will be provided a chromebook (computer) for the 2020-2021 academic school year for use in the classrooms and at home.

“Every student in the school system will get a 1:1 device (computer) to take home. We will expect our teachers to not only communicate with our parents digitally but be prepared to assign lessons through the Edgenuity platform,” said Cripps.

The DeKalb County School District is offering a “Parent Digital University” for those with children in the school system.

Parents are urged to view the videos below (available in English and Spanish) to better educate themselves on the use of the digital educational platform being offered by the school district in preparation for remote learning from home .The videos will equip you with the tools necessary to help make your child successful in the DeKalb County School System.

(Video below in English)

(Video below in Spanish)

July 23, 2020
By: Bill Conger

The DeKalb West School Junior Beta club took its talented tech students to the first ever National Junior Beta Club Virtual Convention.

Bradley Pelham, Kolton Slager, and Riley Fuson had placed 2nd in the Tennessee competition last November, earning them a spot to the convention in Texas. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the convention was conducted with online competitions. The Tech team had to submit its video by June, and finalists were announced July 17.

“They did not place, but they learned to work as a team and to give as well as receive criticism as a team,” DWS Jr. Beta Lead Sponsor Jessica Antoniak said.

Operating on the theme, Beta As Far As I Can See, the Bulldog Betas created a video doing different kinds of service including helping with the school’s Backpack program, cleaning up at the school and around the community, helping around their home, and packing boxes for military personnel. Pelham used iMovie to edit it and FlipaClip to create the transitions.

“For Nationals the boys decided to change the video a little bit,” Antoniak explained. “The content remained the same, but Bradley made the transitions better, and they added a question at the end.”

Co-sponsor Nadina Martel led the team with discussion and working through changes as they convened on Google Meets.

Congratulations to the DWS Junior Beta Club for making it to the national convention.

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