Tennessee ninth-graders nearly back to pre-pandemic levels in math
An analysis of math testing scores by the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) found Tennessee’s ninth-graders are nearly back to pre-pandemic levels.
Sumner County students are giving back through a new school program
The Sumner County Schools Board of Education provided an overview Tuesday of a new district initiative that will allow students to build up their career and technical skills while giving back to the community.
Memphis-Shelby County Board of Education disagrees with Superintendent Feagins about how she should be evaluated
The West Tennessee school district resumed discussions about how to evaluate Superintendent Dr. Marie Feagins’ tenure at Tuesday’s board meeting, with much of the focus being on Feagins’ relationship with district employees.
Beacon Poll shows support for school choice policies in Tennessee
A new statewide survey from the Beacon Center of Tennessee found that Tennessee voters are “more likely to vote for candidates” who support school choice by a 40-point margin.
Learn more about the recent Beacon poll findings.
UT-Chattanooga’s Amy Kyriakidis recognized for suicide prevention efforts
Amy Kyriakidis, assistant director for suicide education and prevention at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Center for Wellbeing, recently received special recognition from the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN) for her contributions to suicide prevention in Tennessee.
Metro Nashville Public Schools awarded a federal grant to establish four magnet school programs
Metro Nashville Public Schools announced a $15 million federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program grant at a press conference Monday to establish magnet programs at Glenview Elementary, Paragon Mills Elementary, Stratton Elementary, and Brick Church Middle School.
Three proposed public charter schools in Nashville receive positive recommendation for approval
Supporters of three proposed new public charter schools in Nashville are receiving support from the Executive Director of the state board tasked with deciding their future. Tennessee Public Charter School Commission Executive Director Tess Stovall released written recommendations this week supporting the appeals from Nurses Middle College, LEAD Southeast Elementary, and Encompass Community School.
Hamilton County Schools to transport students to the polls for early voting
Hamilton County Schools will move forward with a plan to provide transportation to early voting sites for students who are eligible to vote, despite some debate about the initiative among Republican and Democrat board members at Thursday’s school board meeting.
Three Democrat House challengers outraise Republican opponents in this week’s campaign filings
Tennessee Democrats’ hopes of cutting into at least some of the Republican House supermajority in next Month’s general election received a boost with this week’s campaign filings.
Three Democratic challengers outraised their Incumbent Republican opponents according to third-quarter reports.
Tennessee school districts step up to assist flood relief efforts in East Tennessee
Schools across the state have been stepping up to provide assistance to flood relief efforts in East Tennessee after flooding from Hurricane Helene left at least 15 people dead and many others homeless throughout the region.
Hurricane Helene recovery will be costly, but Governor Lee isn’t interested in using voucher money to fund it
When Tennessee Governor Bill Lee unveiled the details of the $100 million Helene Emergency Assistance Loans (HEAL) Program in a press conference Thursday afternoon, a reporter asked whether he might be willing to dip into the unused funding for his vouchers program. The Governor did not seem interested despite $144 million in voucher funding sitting unused.
Study finds low math confidence among Black female students in Nashville
A new study published in Sage Journals suggests that Black female students in Nashville have significantly less confidence in math than their male counterparts due to internalized stereotypes about race and gender, as well as concerns about the quality of instruction. Learn more about the study's findings and conclusions.
Seniors encouraged to take advantage of the ACT Senior Retake Opportunity
The Tennessee Department of Education is encouraging high school seniors to take advantage of the state’s free ACT retake opportunities this fall.
Tennessee was the first state in the nation to offer public high school seniors the opportunity to take the ACT two times for free during normal school hours. Students typically take the test once in the spring of their junior year, and then under the program have an opportunity to retake the ACT in the fall of their senior year.
Wooddale Middle School leaders highlight hands-on programming at charter appeal hearing
Wooddale Middle School leaders are taking their appeal to state leaders after Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board of Education members recently voted to deny Wooddale’s amended application to transfer into the district from the state-run Achievement School District.
Vanderbilt research team sets out to develop ‘fully autonomous’ surgical robot
A Vanderbilt University-led research team will use $12 million in federal funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to develop a surgical robot that’s capable of performing surgeries without human intervention. Learn more about their work.
New study of education funding determines an unprecedented amount of public money is now available for private school tuition
A new report from the Georgetown University education think tank FutureEd notes that 569,000 K-12 students received public subsidies for private schooling in 2023-24 across eight states with universal school choice programs.
UT President Randy Boyd tours high schools to showcase higher ed opportunities
University of Tennessee (UT) System President Randy Boyd recently visited several high schools across the state to highlight the system’s academic programming and financial aid options.
LEAD Public Schools withdraws one charter school appeal and moves ahead with another
Leaders of LEAD Public Schools have decided to drop their appeal for the proposed LEAD Cameron Elementary, and instead focus on the appeal for proposed LEAD Southeast Elementary. Learn more about how the proposed Tennessee charter school would serve Nashville families.
TennesseeCAN survey: 46 percent of parents ‘very satisfied’ with schools, despite satisfaction with school choice
A recent parent survey study from the education advocacy organization TennesseeCAN indicates that despite overall satisfaction with school choice in Tennessee and parents’ understanding of student performance, only about 46 percent of parents in Tennessee are “very satisfied” with their children’s schools. Learn more about the survey's findings.
School safety remains top concern for parents in Knox County
Knox County Schools (KCS) leaders continued to hear from parents about school safety concerns at Thursday’s regular Board of Education meeting, following last month’s threats against the East Tennessee school district.