TN.gov Newsroom

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education has been awarded a $22 million grant through the United State Department of Education to support the state’s 22 existing charter schools and to increase the number of high-quality charter schools opening in the future.

NASHVILLE – Textbooks being considered for use in Tennessee public schools beginning with the 2010-11 school year are now on display in ten district textbook collection sites located across the state (see chart below). Tennessee is in the process of adopting new textbooks in the areas of English Grammar and Composition, English as a Second Language and Foreign Languages.

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Education Commissioner Timothy Webb today announced $8.13 million in federal 21st Century Community Learning Center grants. The grants support programs that seek to raise achievement levels of low-income students and students attending underperforming schools through research-based enrichment programs operated outside of the school day.

“We’ve made a serious commitment to our students by raising our standards through the Tennessee Diploma Project and these grants help support our efforts to see that all students graduate ready for college and the workforce,” Gov. Bredesen said.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education released today the list of schools and school districts that showed gains and those that did not show sufficient progress on performance standards under the federal No Child Left Behind guidelines for the 2008-09 school year.

Every Tennessee district that was on the high priority list showed progress and moved into “improving” status. Those school districts include: Bedford County, Davidson County, Madison County and Murfreesboro City. Robertson County Schools came off the high priority list entirely. Another 42 schools across the state came off the high priority list as well, a 50 percent increase over the number of schools that came off last year.

WHAT:            The Tennessee Department of Education will be announcing both the schools and school districts that showed academic gains and th

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education’s Career and Technical Education Department is proud to announce its summer conference “New Directions for Career and Technical Education” at MiddleTennessee State University this week.

With a focus on delivering 21st Century skills that will help students succeed in the classroom as well as the workplace, CTE teachers and directors from across the state will attend the conference to learn new techniques for preparing students for post-secondary achievement and financial literacy.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s Jobs for Tennessee Graduates, a partnership between the Department’s of Education and Labor and Workforce Development, has garnered national success for the fourth consecutive year, again being awarded the highest accolade – the Five of Five Award – signifying JTG students exceeded the goals of the program and earned top marks for graduation and success rates.

Bredesen Accepts ECS Award

NASHVILLE - Governor Phil Bredesen accepted the Education Commission of the States 2009 Frank Newman Award for Innovation on behalf of the State of Tennessee on Wednesday.

The award was presented at the ECS 2009 National Forum on Education Policy being held in Nashville through Thursday. The award, which recognizes excellence in shaping education policy, acknowledges Tennessee’s commitment to education reform through expansion of pre-K, teacher pay increases, higher standards and other education initiatives.

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education is pleased to announce Vance Rugaard, Executive Director of the Office of Teacher Licensing, has been named President of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification. The organization represents professional standards boards and commissions and state departments of educations across the nation responsible for the preparation, licensure and discipline of educational personnel.

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education today announced the 2009-10 federal income guidelines for free and reduced price meals for children in Tennessee schools as determined