The Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) has announced the launch of a new program, the Hope Street Group Tennessee State Teacher Fellowship, to elevate educator voices and improve teacher leadership opportunities. TDOE is partnering with Hope Street Group, a national nonprofit organization known for its teacher engagement work, plus the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) and…
People often ask me what my favorite part of SCORE Prize is. Hands down it is the opportunity to make 12 site visits to the finalist schools and districts to observe, interview, and learn from teachers and school/district leaders, who are getting great results for Tennessee students. I walk away from these visits renewed and…
SCORE’s work is built around four research-based levers to improve student achievement, with great teaching being one. Excellent teacher preparation programs, effective recruitment strategies, and high-quality support and evaluation systems for existing teachers cultivate effective teachers and strong leadership in Tennessee’s schools. In the second part of this legislative series, I provide a synopsis of…
A study published last year laid out in data what we’ve always known anecdotally: School leadership matters. It matters a lot. According to the research report School Leaders Matter, highly effective principals raise the achievement of a typical student in their schools by between two and seven months of learning in a single year, and…
Some of the most beneficial decisions we school leaders must make are seldom looked upon with praise and admiration at decision time, especially in a school district that is the largest employer in the county. The strategic placement, retention, and hiring of school personnel in order to increase learning outcomes for all students has significantly…