
2025 State of Education in Tennessee: Casting a Vision for Student Success
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Teachers & Leaders | High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Data Insights | Education Finance | Postsecondary Success | Innovative Models | Education-to-Career Pathways | K-12 Success
2024 State of Education in Tennessee: Building A Brighter Future
December 5, 2023
Tennessee is a leader in piloting and scaling efforts to strengthen student success. Foundational strategies have been grounded in high expectations for educators, schools, and students – from the time students enter the classroom to the time they receive a degree or credential. This work is yielding demonstrated results for students. However, while progress has been made, it is clear more needs to be done. Tennessee’s next challenge is to expand its vision for education so that each student not only has the opportunity to succeed in school but also has the opportunity to be prepared for a career that enables economic independence.
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Teachers & Leaders | K-12 Success
Early Literacy Success For All Students: A Coherent Path Forward Webinar
September 28, 2023
This webinar covers key findings from our recent report and highlights how two Tennessee districts are working to increase instructionally coherent academic support in early grades literacy.
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Teachers & Leaders | K-12 Success
Early Literacy Success For All Students: A Coherent Path Forward Case Studies
September 25, 2023
During the 2022-23 school year, a group of four Tennessee districts sought support to work toward the shared goal of sustainably scaling their high-dosage tutoring (HDT) programs in first- through third-grade literacy. They oriented their work around a theory of change that focused on integrating their HDT programs into their system’s long-term academic, staffing, and funding strategies.
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Teachers & Leaders | K-12 Success
K-3 Early Literacy Instructional Coherence Literacy Support Toolkit
August 30, 2023
Tennessee’s commitment to research-based early literacy policy and practice has created a foundation for districts and schools to implement instructionally coherent academic support for K-3 literacy.
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Teachers & Leaders | K-12 Success
Report Summary: Early Literacy Success For All Students
August 24, 2023
Since 2021, Tennessee has transformed literacy instruction by codifying the research on effective early literacy instruction into policy. This approach focuses on systematic, explicit phonics instruction and regular opportunities to build knowledge through reading and responding to complex texts. The legislation, investment, and resulting practice in schools is working.
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Teachers & Leaders | Education Finance
Supporting District Leaders To Leverage TISA For Student Success
May 18, 2023
Tennessee modernized its education finance system to allocate funding for students’ unique learning needs through passage of the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act during the 2022 legislative session. This legislative reform reflects Tennessee’s longstanding commitment to improving education outcomes. Building upon the prior decade’s implementation of high academic standards, rigorous annual assessments, and a multiple-measure accountability system, TISA advances our collective belief that all students should have equitable opportunity to succeed in school, postsecondary education, and life.
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Teachers & Leaders | K-12 Success
2023 Summer Learning Refinement Guide
May 18, 2023
Over the last two years, districts across the state have implemented summer learning camps for rising first through eighth graders. While leaders and teachers did not have much time to prepare for summer 2021 camps, they were able to use the lessons learned from the first year of implementation to improve their programming for the subsequent summer.
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Teachers & Leaders | K-12 Success
2023 Third Grade Tennessee Summer School Guidance
April 27, 2023
The TN 3rd grade retention law could mean that thousands of additional 3rd grade students across the state will need to attend summer school this year to avoid being retained for the 2023-24 school year. To advance these students toward grade-level readiness we must seek to provide them accelerated instruction during summer school that provides coherent instruction aligned to grade-level ELA requirements while also addressing students’ key learning gaps in reading foundational skills.
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Teachers & Leaders | High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Innovative Models | K-12 Success
A SPOTLIGHT ON Nashville Classical Charter School
April 3, 2023
Founded in 2013, Nashville Classical Charter School (NCCS) serves a racially, economically, and geographically diverse group of 550 students in grades K-8. Seventy percent of NCCS students are Black or LatinX, and the student body represents 26 unique zip codes from across the greater Nashville area.
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Teachers & Leaders | High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Innovative Models | K-12 Success
A SPOTLIGHT ON Purpose Preparatory Academy Charter School
April 3, 2023
Located in North Nashville, Purpose Preparatory Academy Charter School serves 352 students in grades K-5. Nearly 95 percent of its students are Black. Purpose Prep aims to provide all students with a rigorous curriculum, high-quality instruction, and positive character development to ensure they are prepared for college.
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Teachers & Leaders | High-Quality Public Charter Schools | Data Insights | Education Finance | Postsecondary Success | Innovative Models | Education-to-Career Pathways | K-12 Success
2023 State of Education in Tennessee
December 6, 2022
When it comes to taking big steps to improve outcomes for students, Tennessee leads. For more than a decade, the state has taken bold actions and demonstrated great success in improving education. This has led to students having more opportunities for their future, businesses having a more skilled workforce, and, ultimately, more Tennesseans experiencing economic independence statewide.
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Teachers & Leaders | Innovative Models
Innovative School Models Planning Guide
August 16, 2022
This planning guide is aligned to the Tennessee Department of Education’s Innovative School Models (ISM) guidance document and addresses each of the application components. It also contains links to national examples and resources to further support your thinking around how you will innovate in your middle and high schools. By reflecting on the questions and considerations in this document, your team should be better prepared to submit a strong application.
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