Tennessee Gets No Child Left Behind Waiver

Tennessee was one of ten states today to receive a waiver from the Obama administration from requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. For a full article on this issue from the Knoxville News Sentinnel go here.

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.

Tennessee Departmental Budget Hearings Underway in East Tennessee

Today, Governor Haslam's departmental budget hearings continue in Knoxville with the Department of Education budget hearing.

Also, today will feature budget hearings for the departments of Agriculture, Tourism, Children's Services, and Veterans Affairs. The TennCare budget will be heard on November 28th. These hearings will wrap up this round of the Governor's budget hearings. Video of these hearings is available at http://www.tn.gov/. at the link for budget hearings. If you miss the live presentations, the video is archived for later viewing.

One highlight from the Department of Education budget hearing is that the proposed funding increase for the BEP for FY 2011-2012 is $53.8 million. Of that figure, approximately $20 million is for expected growth in student enrollment. The remaining increase is due to inflationary factors in the BEP formula itself.

U.S. Secretary of Education Cites TN as Example of State Deserving NCLB Waiver

From the Knoxville News Sentinnel site Humphrey on the Hill:

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today cited Tennessee as an example of a state that has "done a great job" in setting education standards and deserving of a waiver from No Child Left Behind.

Duncan's comments came in a telephone news conference with reports around the nation to outline his general plans for granting waivers to NCLB. Specifics will be provided next month, he said, and the process of granting approvals will begin shortly thereafter.

While he stopped short of specifically saying Tennessee would be granted a waiver, Duncan came pretty close.

For the full article, go here.

Release of TCAP Data on School System Performance

Last Friday, the Tennessee Department of Education released district-level 2010-2011 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test results. Now available online, the statewide and district-by-district breakdown shows how each school district performed in advancing student growth in all subject areas and grade levels three through eight.

Across the state, Tennessee students scored higher in all subject areas and grade levels in grades three through eight on this year’s TCAP achievement tests by comparison to 2009-2010 results. Student math scores grew by 7% and reading scores grew by 3.7%. These improvements show student success with the heightened academic standards implemented last year. An extended version of the statewide press conference is available online.

For the first time, TCAP achievement test results are being made publicly available on the department’s website in a district-by-district breakdown that shows the percentage of students who scored at the below basic, basic, proficient, and advanced levels in grades three through eight. High school end of course results and AYP determinations are not finalized and will likely be released in the coming weeks.

Students in Grades 3-8 take the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Test each spring. The Achievement Test is a timed, multiple choice assessment that measures skills in Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Student results are reported to parents, teachers and administrators. To view the 2010-2011 TCAP results, visit the Tennessee Department of Education website homepage at http://tn.gov/education.

TBI Crime in Schools Report

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation today released its annual study dedicated to crime in Tennessee’s schools. Produced by TBI’s Crime Statistics Unit, the study spans a three-year period between 2008 and 2010 and is based on numbers submitted by Tennessee law enforcement agencies to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS). The state’s first ever school crimes study was released in May of 2009.

The reported number of crimes that occurred at schools decreased by 1.6% from 2009 to 2010 and there was an overall decrease of 3.4% between 2008 and 2010. There were 13,110 crimes reported at schools in 2010 compared to 13,327 in 2009. This report is based on incidents submitted by law enforcement agencies and excludes offenses reported by colleges and universities. Those statistics are compiled in TBI’s “Crime on Campus” report that was released earlier this year.

“School Crimes Study” Quick Facts

- 2.3% of all crimes reported in the state occurred at a school.

- The reported numbers of crimes occurring at schools decreased by 1.6% from 2009. There were 13,110 crimes reported in 2010 compared to 13,327 in 2009.

- Simple assault was the most frequently reported crime at 4,885 offenses.

- Crimes against persons increased by 3.4%, but crimes against property decreased by 9.1%.

- More crimes occurred on Friday than any other day of the week and most resulted in no injury to the victim.

- 51% of the time, the relationship between the offender and victim was acquaintance.

It is important to understand the characteristics surrounding school crime and its offenders and victims. This understanding will help schools, policy makers, law enforcement and the public learn how to better combat crime that occurs at these institutions. To view the “School Crimes Study” for 2010 in its entirety, go to the TBI website at www.tbi.tn.gov.

Amazing Turnout Expected for Education Workshops

So far, the four evening education workshops for county commissioners have a total of 168 people registered. It's a great problem to have, but the Knox County meeting has maxed out at 75 and can take no more registrations.

These classes will be very informative for county commissioners and relate to one of the most important and complicated aspects of county government services and budgeting. I'm very excited and encouraged that there has been such a strong response to the classes.

Analysis of the Basic Education Program

In December, the Offices of Research and Education Accountability wtihin the State Comptroller's Office released a Legislative Brief on Tennessee's Basic Education Program. The 34 page document summarizes the provisions of the law, explains how the various funding components work and provides several charts of system by system comparisons of funding and costs.

The publication is available on-line here.

Training Available on K-12 Education Funding and Reform

The County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) and TCCA are offering a training session about Education Funding and Reform. This is the second class in the series of evening workshops that began last fall with the Overview of the County Commission in Tennessee classes.

This class is designed to inform county commissioners about how education funding in Tennessee is structured while also providing an overview of major developments in education reform currently being implemented in our school systems. The funding portion of the class will give officials a general understanding of the Basic Education Program formula which is used to determine state and local funding for K-12 school systems in Tennessee. The funding portion of the class will focus on how an individual system’s share of education funding is determined, including the calculation of local fiscal capacity, and describe the funding requirements that state law places on local funding bodies. The reform portion of the class will review recent developments in Tennessee related to k-12 education reform, including changes in school standards and assessments through the Tennessee Diploma Project, the impact of Race to the Top Grants, the First to the Top program, changes in teacher assessments and other possible reforms. The intent is to help county officials understand new changes that are currently being implemented and how they will impact the overall performance, operation and evaluation of their local school system. Dinner will be provided at 6:00 p.m. with the session offered from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Attendance is free for county officials.

County Commissioners should be receiving a mail notice and registration form about these workshops. The dates and locations are below.

SouthEast Tennessee
Tuesday, February 8 Athens
Athens Conference Center
2405 Decatur Pike, Athens, TN

East Tennessee
Wednesday, February 9 Knoxville
UT Conference Center Building (Room 413A)
600 Henley Street. Knoxville, TN

West Tennessee
Thursday, February 17 Jackson
West TN Research and Education Center (Room A)
605 Airways Boulevard, Jackson, TN

Middle Tennessee
Wednesday, March 23 Franklin
Williamson County Ag Expo Park
4215 Long Lane, Franklin, TN

TN Delays Release of Schools' Adequate Yearly Progress Results Again

According to the Tennessean, the Tennessee Department of Education is again delaying the release of its 2009-10 Adequate Yearly Progress results, saying it will be January when schools find out if they met annual testing goals. A harder state curriculum and exams were implemented last school year. That changed how students are defined as having mastered or failed content on exams. New goals were also set that schools had to meet in reading and math. The state has requested two waivers from the U.S. Department of Education regarding this year's scores, contributing to the delay.

For the full article from the Tennessean, click here.

Delays Again in School Systems Reports

According to this article in the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, the release of Adequate Yearly Progress reports for school systems has been pushed back again. Now, Department of Education officials expect to release that report and the official report card for the state and school systems around mid-December. Click on the link above for more information.

Tennessee Improves High School Graduation Rate

According to an article in the Commercial Appeal (click here for the link), Tennessee has made dramatic gains in its high school graduation rate. In 2002 we had one of the lowest rates in the country at 59.6%. By 2008 that had improved to 74.9%. This 15% improvement led the nation. This article is reporting findings from a study by Johns Hopkins University and America's Promise Alliance, founded by Gen. Colin Powell. The website for that organization and a link to the full report can be found at http://americaspromise.org/ and at full graduation rate study report.

Race to the Top Resources

The State Department of Education has put together an Internet site with detailed information about the Race to the Top Program in Tennessee. I particularly recommend that county commissioners use the link on the site to download the approved Scope of Work that was proposed by your school system. These documents provide a detailed plan as to how your school system intends to use their portion of the federal grant to improve schools in your communities over the next four years.

You can find these resources by going to this website Race to the Top and then selecting your LEA (local education agency) from the drop down menu. There is a signature page within these scopes of work. If your school system is planning to use these funds in a manner that will create on-going obligations after the federal grant has expired, the chair of the funding body (county commission or city council) should have been required to sign off on the scope of work as well.

Federal Education Jobs Program Funds

A new federal jobs program that impacts county governments was passed by Congress this summer and signed into law on August 10, 2010. It is not a part of ARRA (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), but will have similar reporting guidelines and similar purposes. Nationwide, the program authorized $10 billion in financial assistance to states to save or create jobs, specifically targeted to help protect jobs in K-12 education.

Tennessee’s allocation was $195.8 million. The state qualifies for the money under all known federal guidelines and the Bredesen administration has applied for the funds. Once received, the funds must be available to LEAs (Local Education Agencies) for the 2010-2011 school year. The funds must only be used for obligations made on or after August 10, 2010. LEAs may use the funds through September 30, 2012 (which is the end of the 2011-2012 federal fiscal year). However, for ease of administration and reporting, the Tennessee Department of Education is recommending that LEAs expend the funds by June 30, 2012 - the end of the state’s next fiscal year. Although eligible to retain a percentage of the funds for offsetting administrative costs, the state Department of Education is not retaining any of the funding and is letting it all flow through to the LEAs.

The state had the option to distribute the funds under either Title I or the state’s primary education funding formula (the Basic Education Program or BEP). Tennessee has determined that the funds will be distributed under the BEP. The US Department of Education guidelines indicate that a Governor may not direct how an LEA uses its education jobs fund. However, the Federal guidelines do require the funds to be spent in certain areas.

Education Jobs Program funds must be used only for school-level employee compensation and benefits and other expenses, such as support services, necessary to (1) retain existing employees, (2) recall or rehire former employees, and (3) hire new employees. Examples of permissible compensation and benefits include: salaries, performance bonuses, health insurance, retirement benefits, incentives for early retirement, pension fund contributions, tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment assistance, transportation subsidies, and reimbursement for childcare expenses. Besides teachers, examples of other school level employees who may receive these funds would include principals, assistant principals, academic coaches, in-service teacher trainers, classroom aides, counselors, librarians, social workers, interpreters, physical, speech and occupational therapists, security officers, maintenance workers, nurses, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers. The money can be used to restore reductions in salaries and benefits, implement increases or bonuses, or compensate teachers for previously scheduled furlough days. The important distinction is whether the employee is a “school level” employee or an “LEA-level” or “central office” employee. The federal guidelines do not allow the funds to be used for central office administrative personnel such as staff for the superintendent’s office or the board of education. The funds also cannot be used to pay for contracted services. The federal guidelines describe the funds as being for K-12 education. At this time it is unknown whether it is permissible to use the funds for Pre-K expenses.

These funds will have to be tracked, reported and accounted for separately. These are considered federal funds, but their use does not trigger federal non-supplanting guidelines. Additionally, as federal funds, these do not impact the required local match, or state-level non-supplanting or maintenance of effort requirements for LEAs. The funds are expected to be available for draw down in 2-3 weeks. The funds could be spent entirely in this budget year or an LEA could wait to spend the funds in next budget year or use them both years. They simply cannot be spent for obligations arising before August 10, 2010, and must be spent before September 30, 2012.

Tennessee Eligible for Teacher Jobs Funds

According to an article in the Commercial Appeal (find it on-line here#), Tennessee is eligible to receive federal funds recently approved to help protect teacher jobs. Since the state did not cut funding for teacher salaries, there was a concern Tennessee would miss out on this assistance.

This excerpt from the article indicates that the money may be used for certain other specific needs:

"Under the federal Department of Education guidance circulated to U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen's office on Thursday, even states that have not reduced their support to elementary and secondary education are eligible for the funding.

"If a state's (local education agencies) do not need funds to recall or rehire former employees, they may use the funds for activities such as paying the salaries and benefits for teachers who provide instructional services in after-school and extended learning programs," the DOE guidance suggests."

See the article linked above for more details.

Education Standards - Understanding How we Got to Where We Are

In recent years, Tennessee has taken a number to steps to toughen up standards for K-12 education in the state. In the next couple of months, those changes will be felt as new assessments of the performance of our students and our schools are released. There is a general expectation and concern that the new higher standards will initially result in dramatically lower scores. But this hopefully is a necessary growing pain our state and our communities have to go through to get to the desired end result: a well performing and quality public educational system in Tennessee.

I recently read a good article on-line that succintly describes where we've been and how we got to this point. You can find it here on the Chattarati website.

Keynote Speaker at Governor's Economic Development Conference is President of Achieve

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber today announced Michael Cohen, president of the nationally recognized education reform organization Achieve, will keynote the Commissioner’s Luncheon on September 16, 2010 during the 57th annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development in Nashville, Tenn.

Founded in 1996 by a coalition of business leaders and the nation’s governors, Achieve is an independent, bipartisan organization dedicated to helping states raise standards and graduation requirements, as well as improve assessment and accountability. In 2005, Achieve created the American Diploma Project, of which Tennessee is one of 35 participating states. Governor Bredesen also serves as co-chair of the Achieve Board of Directors.

“Over the past seven and a half years, we’ve made substantial investments in Tennessee to push our state to the forefront of reforming our public education system,” said Governor Bredesen. “Tennessee recognizes that higher standards and greater achievement are key to a more competitive workforce and long term growth for our economy.”

For more, see the full press release here.

Gov. Bredesen Signs Executive Order to Create STEM Innovation Network

On July 29th, Gov. Bredesen signed an executive order to create the STEM Innovation Network. The STEM disciplines are Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. The Network is charged with promoting and expanding the teaching and learning of these four disciplines in K-12 public schools across Tennessee. The Network will be associated with the State Department of Education which is authorized by the Executive Order to enter into an agreement with Battelle to be the manager of the Network and its activities. Battelle (the Battelle Memorial Institute) is a global research and development enterprise which jointly manages the Oak Ridge National Laboratory with the University of Tennessee.

For more, see this article by Tom Humprhey of the Knoxville News Sentinel or click here for a copy of the executive order.

Tennessee Makes Education Gains - But Battling Growing Poverty

According to an article from the Commercial Appeal out of Memphis (click here for the full article), Tennessee has made gains in high school graduation, average ACT score and other education measures. However, these gains are at risk due to growing numbers of children living in poverty.

Governor Bredesen Comments on Use of Race to the Top Funds

In an article on the Nashville Public Radio (WPLN) website, the Governor comments on the recent award to Tennessee of federal education funds. Governor Phil Bredesen is reminding people that federal “Race to the Top” funds can’t be used to plug budget holes. That’s after Tennessee was chosen to receive a federal $500 million for classroom innovation.

Bredesen says he hopes some of the money establishes new programs that a future governor would want to continue, even after the federal money goes away. But he says Race to the Top doesn’t tie anyone’s hands in future budgets.

“One of the great things about this money is it really can’t be used to fill budget holes. It goes for the kinds of things that are really important for the long run but really easy to push back each year.”

For more on this story, click here.