Teacher and Principal Residency Grant Invests in Talent
Three Tennessee school systems will receive funding as part of the Teacher and Principal Residency Competitive Grant. As part of the First to the Top initiative, systems will work to increase and retain the number of well prepared and effective teachers and principals to address local school-based needs and encourage student achievement. Awarded systems will receive a total of approximately two million dollars over the course of four years to implement projects such as allowing for additional teacher residents, effective educator and administrator recruitment and training, instructional mentoring, and professional and leadership development initiatives in partnership with state universities. More.
Jan. 7, 2011
Tennessee Announces 2010-11 Adequate Yearly Progress and State
Across the state, schools and districts faced challenges with increased standards and assessments, however, many schools and districts have shown improvement and progress. The list of schools and school districts that showed gains and those that did not show sufficient progress on performance standards under the federal No Child Left Behind guidelines for the 2009-10 school year have been released. In a unique year, the Department has concurrently released the annual comprehensive report card on Pre-K-12 education, including state, district and school-level information on achievement, demographics and discipline. More.
Jan 13, 2011
Innovation Acceleration Fundto Reward Top Educators
Innovation Acceleration Fund grants will assist four school systems in designing and/or implementing alternative salary schedules. Building on initiatives in First to the Top to increase educator effectiveness through innovative compensation structures, newly adopted alternative salary schedules will reward teachers and principals for their ability to increase student achievement levels. Districts will use funds to address such priorities as teacher recruitment and retention and long-term sustainability of new compensation systems after the term of the grant has expired. More. |
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NEWS BRIEFS
Join the First to the Top Team
The Tennessee Department of Education has several positions available in the race to change the face of education across Tennessee. Available positions include:
Join the Education Conversation Online We want to hear from you! Join the discussion online via Facebook or Twitter. Stay informed on the latest happenings going on across the state or receive updates directly to your email or cell phone. Follow @TNFirstotheTop
on Twitter or find Tennessee First to the Top on Facebook to stay up to date and share with your friends and followers.
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COMING SOON
TELL Tennessee to Make a Difference
Research from across the country has shown the presence of positive teaching and learning conditions is essential for student success and teacher retention. That is why as part of the state's First to the Top initiative, every school-based licensed educator in the state will have the opportunity to share their views via the TELL Tennessee (Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning) Survey. This is the first statewide opportunity for all educators in Tennessee to provide input about the allocation of your time, facilities and resources, student learning, community engagement, empowerment, school leadership, professional development; and mentoring.
The Tennessee Department of Education has partnered with a coalition of supporting organizations such as:
· Tennessee Education Association
· Tennessee Principals Study Council
· Tennessee State Collaborative of Reforming Education(SCORE)
· Tennessee School Boards Association
· Tennessee Association of School Superintendents
· Tennessee Charter Schools Association
Together, these organizations have been and will continue to work hard at encouraging teachers across the state to become a part of the on-going improvement planning processes in Tennessee's First to the Top program.
The confidential survey will be available online for every educator to access starting February 14, 2011 and ending March 11, 2011. Educators will receive a personal security code that enables them to go online and provide their perceptions in the coming weeks. In the meantime, visit TELL Tennessee online for answers to your frequently asked questions or access survey resources. |
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SETTING GOALS
Getting College and Career Ready
The Education Delivery Unit (EDU) partnered with the State Board of Education and Tennessee Higher Education Commission to finalize goals, indicators, and targets for student performance.
The Department of Education proposed 15 student performance indicators that will be used to track Tennessee's progress toward meeting its educational aspirations for its students, along with ambitious targets for the level of student performance by 2019-20.
These goals will measure:
- Proficiency on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) assessment that is given each year to all TN students in grades 3-8 in reading/language arts and mathematics.
- High school graduation rates
- Percentage of students who have attained postsecondary credit through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), dual enrollment, dual credit, or industry certification by the time they graduate from high school.
- Student college- and career-readiness based on end-of-course exams, EXPLORE, PLAN, and ACT exams
The State Board of Education approved these indicators and targets on January 27, 2011. As the result of the reforms, the state expects to see strong improvement in young students' academic readiness for school, high school graduates' readiness for college and careers, and higher rates of graduates' enrollment and success in postsecondary education.
Read more about the new performance goals and targets online. |
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TOP TALENT
Recruiting and Retaining Great Teachers and Leaders
As part of First to the Top initiatives, Tennessee has placed its focus on recruiting and retaining top talent in schools across the state. Over the month of January, several school systems were awarded competitive funds to assist in teacher recruitment and retention efforts.
Teacher and Principal Residency Grant
Teachers and principals are essential to the goals and mission of education reform across the state. Interested school systems applied for program focused grants geared towards pre-service preparation, advanced training and professional development, and/or supporting exemplary leaders. Awarded systems included:
- Hamilton County Schools
- Memphis City Schools
- Metro Nashville Public Schools
Residencies provide the supported, hands-on experience that develops the quality leaders needed in schools. Learn more about the Teacher and Principal Residency Grant online.
Innovation Acceleration Fund
Performance-based compensation is one strategy to recruit, retain, and reward our teachers. First to the Top funds supply the competitive Innovation Acceleration Fund with a total of $12,000,000 that will be dispersed among:
- Putnam County Schools
- Trousdale County Schools
- Lexington City Schools
- Knox County Schools
Districts will use funds to address such priorities as teacher recruitment and retention and long-term sustainability of new compensation systems that will encourage teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Read the full release about the Innovation Acceleration Fund in the Newsroom. |
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MAKING THE GRADES
AYP and Report Card Shows Gains and Needs for Improvement
In a unique year, the Tennessee Department of Education released its annual Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) data and Report Card in January 2011.
This data has profound effects on schools and school systems - the way they operate day-to-day, the way they are perceived in the public eye and most importantly, the way they move forward in educating our students. Schools and systems that fail to meet AYP repeatedly face sanctions, which could include smaller interventions like increased professional development or, in cases of prolonged failure, more intense actions like complete state intervention.
While this year's AYP results have brought great successes-- many to be lauded--such as school districts on the high priority list moving into "improving" status and 25 of our schools improving and moving completely off the high priority list, we still have a lot of work to do. Across the state, schools faced a big hurdle. In Tennessee, we have 186 schools that have failed to meet AYP against increased learning standards and graduation requirements for the 2009-10 school year.
This is not an attempt to label schools as "failing," but a call to motivate and drive change for those schools that need improvement. The annual State Report Card on Pre-K-12 education in Tennessee provides a comprehensive view of state, district and school-level information on achievement, demographics and discipline.
Learn more about Adequate Yearly Progress results or view the 2010 Report Card online. |
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MAKING PLANS
STEM Advisory Council Update
The STEM Advisory Council continues to make plans and lay out the blueprint for Tennessee's move towards more opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math education.
David Burns with the Battelle Memorial Institute presented the council with the design principles for platform schools and hubs at the latest meeting. Platform schools are not created just for the best and the brightest, but a renewed focus on innovation. Being innovative is not just in the teaching methods and practices, but also in the way student learning is assessed and evaluated. Similarly, hubs operate regionally to connect schools with partners in business, K-12 education and in post-secondary education as well as serve as a resource for other STEM schools to take note of innovative practices. The funds allocated to these schools are to be used to accomplish these goals and to help more kids to overcome whatever obstacles are potentially preventing them from being academically successful.
Council members asked questions to facilitate their understanding of the platform school and hub models and to get clarity about how these would look in Tennessee. Battelle Memorial Institute also manages the Ohio STEM Network and offered valuable insight on lessons learned and any parallels that can be applied to the network here in Tennessee.
Advisory Council members continue to be ambassadors for the network and make sure that school districts and communities are aware of the network across the state. For more information about the STEM Innovation Network or the Advisory Council, visit the Tennessee First to the Top homepage. |
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First to the Top is Tennessee's initiative to improve education through the federal Race to the Top program.
For more information, contact:
Amanda Anderson, Director of Communications
Tennessee Department of Education
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