Dear Friends,
One good way to become the best is to learn from the best.
Since 2011, the SCORE Prize has honored Tennessee schools and districts that are leaders in learning. The 33 schools and 10 districts that have been SCORE Prize finalists and winners have embraced high expectations, empowered their people, and adopted student-focused innovations to rise to the challenge of preparing all students to graduate ready for postsecondary education and the workforce.
The SCORE Prize was created not only to honor great schools and districts but also to share their field-tested practices with others facing similar academic challenges.
In the spirit of the SCORE Prize, which will not be awarded in 2016 because of the statewide assessment transition, we are convening the SCORE Prize Summit: Strategies for Student Success to help elevate educational excellence and innovation in Tennessee. The summit, held Friday and Saturday, August 12-13, in Nashville, will showcase and share effective approaches to increasing student achievement used by SCORE Prize winners and finalists and other high-performing schools and districts in Tennessee.
The academic progress that has made Tennessee the fastest-improving state for student achievement has been fueled by the teamwork within schools, districts, and communities to develop and carry out a plan of action. For that reason, the summit has been structured to be attended by teams of teachers, school leaders, and district leaders.
In concurrent sessions tailored to their specific roles, summit participants will first learn about some of the most exciting academic work in Tennessee schools. Then, before the summit concludes, the educator teams will collaborate on action planning so they go home with a map that will lead their students to achieve more academically.
There is still time for teams to register for the SCORE Prize Summit, and those who attend can earn professional development credit from TASL and CEO Academy.
Tennessee and SCORE have set a goal of lifting student achievement in this state to the top half of the nation by 2020. We know our students and educators are capable of reaching this admittedly high goal because Tennessee’s fourth-grade math results cracked the top 25 on the Nation’s Report Card in 2015.
By sharing the best ideas from some of the best educators at the SCORE Prize Summit: Strategies for Student Success, we hope to illuminate proven approaches for greater student achievement and to unleash innovative thinking for new ways to accelerate the progress.
Very sincerely yours,
