Spotlight on Commissioner o
A
Q
Communication can always be improved. I have never been in a job
where this was not true. With that said, communication is certainly a
Department of Education priority – from listening and responding to
questions to proactively communicating to larger audiences. We know
our work impacts so many people and can be easily miscommunicated
if we don’t contextualize it with why and how it is important to our
broader state goals. In addition, we know that to achieve our goals we
must have the input and support of all of the people impacted. This
takes significant time and energy, but allows us to have long- erm and
t
sustained gains.
We made quite a few changes in public education in Tennessee
the last decade. Some needed. Some debatable. What are we
doing right?
A
Q
Tennessee is doing many things right. We have made significant strides
in improving student outcomes. We are the fastest improving state in
the nation in student achievement as measured on the Nation’s Report
Card. We have the fastest improving graduation rate in the nation. We
have improved our ACT state average from a 19 to a 19.3 – even this
small improvement is significant. At the same time, we are also improving
the conditions around learning and our teaching profession Evaluation
results show us that teachers are receiving better, more accurate
feedback than ever before. Over the past three years, almost 75 percent
of our teachers in tested subjects have moved students a year or more
in academic growth. And we are proactively breaking down barriers to
learning by serving the whole student. Tennessee is the only state in the
nation to have a Coordinated School Health program in every district,
providing resources and support to teachers and schools around the
many factors that prepare students to learn each day.
We may have finally addressed concerns with standards this
legislative session, thanks to input of many people. Are we
finally ready to move forward with the process?