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  • VIDEO: Loudon County Schools

    The Loudon County School System plays an active role in changing the culture of education in the state. All facets of the system, from county administrators to principals and teachers, are dedicated to improving outcomes for students, no matter the challenges they face. The district’s work has contributed to improved levels of student achievement and…

  • The solution for gap closure?

    When the term gap closure first came on the radar in a big way this summer, responses ranged from: “Show me the data” to “Gap is closing…where will I buy my jeans?” It was a semi-foreign concept to many educators because overall achievement and growth have always been our aim—not who is out performing whom…

  • Expect More, Achieve More Coalition Launched

    http://youtu.be/oKIu77lE5kM More than 100 business, community, and education organizations across Tennessee today launched an effort to support high academic standards in K-12 public education. This group, the Expect More, Achieve More coalition, seeks to build statewide and local awareness of Tennessee’s ongoing effort to raise expectations in the classroom through the Common Core State Standards….

  • Common Core Equals Common Ground for Military-Connected Children

    There has been a lot of buzz about the Common Core State Standards coming to schools in Tennessee and it is finally here. Over the next two years Tennessee will implement CCSS in public schools across the state, and this past July thousands of Tennessee teachers were trained on the higher standards and what the…

  • Draw the line: working hard vs. working effectively

    Our jobs as educators can get overwhelming at times. Of course if you have been in education for more than 15 minutes, this isn’t a revelation. Do we actually stop and think about our attempt to manage and incorporate the constant inflow of new initiatives, policies, technology, training, and websites all offering positive ways to…

  • Statement from SCORE on Tennessee’s ACT results

    The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) released the following statement today from Jamie Woodson, President and CEO, on the release of the 2012 ACT test results for Tennessee: “Over the last year, many schools and school districts in Tennessee have seen increases in student achievement and growth on our state’s assessments. The ACT is…

  • Pathways to the SCORE Prize

    What do the following quotes have in common? “You should strive to be the best, expect the best, and accept only the best from your students.” “[Our] teachers have the belief that our scholars can perform at high levels no matter their socioeconomic background.” “We are serious when we say that every student will succeed.”…

  • Trust in data makes or breaks effective policy implementation

    As with meeting all education priorities, ensuring that data end up in the hands of the appropriate stakeholders, and that those stakeholders are empowered to use those data to inform their decisionmaking, takes ongoing investment of time, resources, and generally focused, diligent work. At DQC we have a handy catch phrase to describe the key…

  • Statewide network enables sharing of best practices

    Two weeks ago I stood in the gymnasium of Innovation Academy of Northeast Tennessee to participate in the ribbon cutting of the region’s new science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) middle school. An overflowing crowd of excited students, parents, business leaders, and elected officials lined the gymnasium and wound through the hallways to hear how…

  • The Most Necessary Ingredient for Successful Implementation of the Common Core Standards

    There is a great deal of anxiety across the state as school districts begin implementing the Common Core State Standards. In Loudon County, we feel clear, concise communication will be the center of a successful implementation. This communication needs to include all stakeholders–administrators, teachers, students, and their families and communities. But how do we get…

  • Teaching as a top career

    When I decided to become a special education teacher, I could not help but sense others’ disappointment: “A teacher? But you’re so smart!” They didn’t sway my decision, but I can’t count how many times I’ve been advised to pursue other fields, even from teachers themselves. While it seems strange that so many would disapprove,…

  • Finding success through struggle

    When my students would furrow their brows and tell me, “You do too much,” I knew it was code for, “you are working us too hard.” My students deserved teachers who would push them to their highest potential, so when they lamented that they were working too hard, I was confident that they unsuspectingly loved…

  • Exhibit A in a culture of low expectations

    Much of the education-reform community is buzzing about an opinion piece that appeared in yesterday’s New York Times. The piece, Is Algebra Necessary?, can be summed up in the first paragraph: A typical American school day finds some six million high school students and two million college freshmen struggling with algebra. In both high school…

  • The Zip Code to Success

    A student’s address should not determine the quality of his or her education. But often it does. As an undergraduate at Rhodes College in Memphis, I have become acutely aware of the unfortunate relationship between the economic situation of a community and the academic achievement of its schools. Only 20 minutes of driving time separates…

  • VIDEO: Rural Education Network Common Core Convening

    Last month, the Rural Education Network held its first in-person meeting in Nashville. During the meeting, more than 70 participants learned more about Common Core implementation efforts in partner states and had the opportunity to identify challenges to implementation efforts as well as innovative approaches, regional collaborations, and possible resources to advance implementation in rural…

  • Parents are key in implementing higher academic standards

    Over 30 years of research studies tell us that when parents are engaged in a child’s learning, the child does better in school and the schools get better. The Tennessee State Board of Education committed to ensuring that each school and school district implements a viable family engagement policy and plan by adopting the Six…

  • Retaining talented teachers

    Several weeks ago, students and teachers said their good-byes for the summer. Far too many teachers also say good-bye each summer, however, to the teaching profession itself. I wrote a few months ago about the harmful effects on student achievement of high teacher turnover rates. Although these effects hold true across school types, a new…

  • The crucial need to hold students to a higher standard

    This editorial originally appeared on 7/3/12 in The Week. The crucial need to hold students to a higher standard Over the last few months, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors have walked across a stage and received a diploma, an important moment that should be applauded. Unfortunately, for many of those students, that diploma…

  • Bringing the Best and Brightest Back to Our Rural Communities

    As early as the second grade, I can remember the teacher asking my classmates and me what we wanted to be when we grew up. We had been studying space, so one of my friends said he would be an astronaut. A fair share of us wanted to be professional athletes and doctors. I said…

  • TN Department of Education invites stakeholders in education to attend summer training sessions

    The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) would like to invite its higher education, teacher preparation, non-profit, education advocacy organization, and private school partners to attend training sessions on the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics for grades 3-8. Although the training is intended for math teachers, school administrators and school personnel, the TDOE would like…