Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty today announced on Friday December 16th the release of nine regional strategic plans outlining how ECD’s field staff will lead new economic development efforts in their regions, support existing networks of local organizations and serve as an effective conduit between the department and regional stakeholders. The plans can be viewed at http://tn.gov/ecd/.
Gov. Haslam’s Jobs4TN economic development plan, announced earlier this year, decentralized ECD and established nine jobs base camps throughout the state. Jobs base camp regional directors and their staffs created the strategic plans through a variety of outreach efforts, stakeholder meetings and consensus building activities.
“Jobs4TN was designed to take a more regional approach to job creation so we can better understand and serve the needs of each region,” Haslam said. “The strategic plans will be a guide for economic development growth as we continue working to become the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”
“With assets varying greatly throughout Tennessee, it is important that we address each region’s strengths and challenges individually, and the strategic plans help us do just that,” Hagerty said. “Working with our local partners, we were able to develop plans specifically tailored to the needs of our nine regions.”
Each strategic plan is unique to its region yet common themes emerged, including enhancing communication amongst economic development partners, sharing best practices, reaching out to existing businesses and partnering with area stakeholders. The plans will continue to be reviewed and revisited with local partners on a regular basis.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
State Report Card on Education
The Tennessee Department of Education on Friday released complete results from the 2011 state Report Card. The release includes district- and school-level data on a variety of indicators, from student achievement and growth on standardized tests, to attendance and behavior.
This is the department’s fourth major data release this year, following the summer release of statewide Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program and Adequate Yearly Progress results, as well as the recent list of Reward, Priority and Focus schools slated for state support under the state’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility request.
This year’s data release timeline aligns with the department’s strategic plan to get as much information as possible to parents and families, to help them be active participants in their children’s education, Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said.
“Data-driven education reform only works when numbers and information can be used to make informed, timely decisions,” Huffman said. “We look forward to continuing to get data and information to the public in the most useful format possible.”
Tennessee submitted its flexibility request — a waiver from certain portions of the No Child Left Behind Act — on Nov. 14. Part of the state’s application included a proposed new accountability model and governance structure for the state’s schools and districts. If the U.S. Department of Education approves the waiver, the current accountability would be replaced with the department’s proposal, which can be found at: http://tn.gov/education/doc/ESEA_Flexibility_Request.pdf.
To see results from the 2011 Tennessee Report Card, visit: http://edu.reportcard.state.tn.us/pls/apex/f?p=200:1:7867592151504984.
This is the department’s fourth major data release this year, following the summer release of statewide Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program and Adequate Yearly Progress results, as well as the recent list of Reward, Priority and Focus schools slated for state support under the state’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act Flexibility request.
This year’s data release timeline aligns with the department’s strategic plan to get as much information as possible to parents and families, to help them be active participants in their children’s education, Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said.
“Data-driven education reform only works when numbers and information can be used to make informed, timely decisions,” Huffman said. “We look forward to continuing to get data and information to the public in the most useful format possible.”
Tennessee submitted its flexibility request — a waiver from certain portions of the No Child Left Behind Act — on Nov. 14. Part of the state’s application included a proposed new accountability model and governance structure for the state’s schools and districts. If the U.S. Department of Education approves the waiver, the current accountability would be replaced with the department’s proposal, which can be found at: http://tn.gov/education/doc/ESEA_Flexibility_Request.pdf.
To see results from the 2011 Tennessee Report Card, visit: http://edu.reportcard.state.tn.us/pls/apex/f?p=200:1:7867592151504984.
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