Monthly Archives: July 2018

  • Learning From Tennessee Principal Preparation Programs

    July 27th, 2018 by

    Tennessee is home to 18 leader preparation programs and they collectively help prepare about 500 candidates each year. The work these programs do to ensure that our school leaders are ready for the complexity of being a principal is critical. Here, we profile two programs, Lipscomb University and University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and their leaders about their approach to preparing principals.

  • Letter From Jamie Woodson: Developing Principals Who Can Lead People And Drive Learning

    July 26th, 2018 by

    To improve student achievement, principals must prioritize instruction and the development of a team of highly effective educators. To do this, Tennessee must ensure that leader preparation programs are preparing and supporting principals for their roles as leaders of instruction and people, as well as the other diverse responsibilities inherent in school leadership.

  • Better Reporting And Accountability For School Leader Preparation Programs

    July 23rd, 2018 by

    Because the role of the school leader is so important to student achievement, the Tennessee State Board of Education is updating its policies on leader preparation and working with the Tennessee Department of Education to improve reporting and accountability for leader preparation programs in Tennessee.

  • Responding To Student Achievement Data With Focus And Urgency

    July 19th, 2018 by

    When Tennessee began setting higher expectations in the classroom, student-focused advocates knew it was important to have an aligned annual measure of progress. The release of the 2017-18 TNReady scores is a good time to recall how statewide assessment data helped Tennessee students make some of the biggest student achievement gains in the nation over the past six years and to think about what to do now.

  • The Importance Of Education Leadership: What Experience And Evidence Say

    July 19th, 2018 by

    For the past 18 years, The Wallace Foundation has been working to improve education leadership on the assumption that effective leaders are essential for the success of efforts to improve schools. What was a “big bet” in 2000 has now been proven. Of course, we have a long way to go in our support and development of leaders so every school has effective leadership. However, we know a lot more now than we did in 2000.

  • Improving Principal Diversity In Tennessee

    July 16th, 2018 by

    In the past decade, the role of the principal has changed from that of a building manager to an instructional leader who sets the tone and vision of the school. Even while the role of the principal has evolved, one thing that has not changed is the lack of racial and ethnic diversity among administrators. This issue has received considerable attention in Tennessee, especially as we think about how to ensure that our schools recruit and retain more teachers of color.

  • Tennessee Data Show Strong Principals Keep Strong Teachers On Board

    July 9th, 2018 by

    The impact great school leaders have on teachers and students is the focus of a new report from the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA), a partnership between Vanderbilt University and the Tennessee Department of Education that researches how to drive improvement in Tennessee schools. Recently, TERA released a research brief that demonstrates the important role principals like mine play in hiring and retaining effective teachers.

  • Statewide Expansion To Help Provide The Course Access That Is Crucial For Postsecondary Success

    July 2nd, 2018 by

    With today’s technology, the Niswonger Foundation has been able to work with large and small school systems throughout Tennessee to help offer all the course choices their students need for success. Niswonger Online, an NCAA and College Board approved online supplemental program that offers over 40 online courses ranging from math, science, foreign languages, and Advanced Placement (AP), is now expanding to offer their courses to students throughout the state.

The SCORE Sheet is the online conversation on public education reform in Tennessee and is hosted by SCORE. The blog mirrors SCORE’s collaborative nature and features contributors from Tennessee and across the country including students, parents, teachers, policymakers, community groups, and members of SCORE’s team. Regardless of perspective, contributors share a common goal: that every child graduates from high school prepared for college or the workforce.

Posts on The SCORE Sheet are the opinions of the individual contributors and are not necessarily reflective of the opinions and positions of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE).