Tag Archives: SCORE

Gov Wants Top-to-Bottom Review of Teacher Evaluations (with no legislative action in the meantime)

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News release from governor’s office:
NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced that there will be both an external and internal review of the new teacher evaluation system.
He has charged the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) with conducting an independent, third-party evaluation and is asking the state Department of Education to formalize a review process, which the department has already begun.
Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) and Rep. John Forgety (R-Athens) are sponsors of a resolution that outlines the review process for the department, which the governor said the administration supports.
“There has been a lot of discussion about teacher evaluations over the past several months,” Haslam said. “As we continue to have conversations with educators, I see a lot of value in reviewing the process both from an external and internal perspective and to compare observation results with student achievement data at the end of the year.
“These evaluations were a critical piece of the Race to the Top initiative, and it is important for Tennessee to maintain strong accountability measures as we build upon our momentum to improve education. As we work through this first year of implementation, I do not support legislative changes during this session. It is appropriate to give the process time to work and to learn more about what changes might be necessary.”
Haslam was joined for the announcement in the Old Supreme Court Chamber of the Capitol by Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman, SCORE president and CEO Jamie Woodson, and key legislators including Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville), House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Nashville), Sen. Delores Gresham (R-Somerville), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Rep. Richard Montgomery (R-Sevierville), chairman of the House Education Committee and Tracy and Forgety, sponsors of the resolution.
SCORE’s report will be due to the state Board of Education and Department of Education on June 1, 2012.
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Note: A statement from House Democratic Leader Craig Fitzhugh, who is sponsoring legislation to suspend the evaluation system for a year, is below.

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SCORE Issues Rural Education Recommendations

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(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today released a report outlining specific recommendations to improve public education in rural communities in the South.
The recommendations in Transforming the Rural South: A Roadmap to Improving Rural Education are based on research, best practices, and voices from rural communities across Tennessee and throughout the Southeast. The report, released jointly with the Ayers Foundation, Niswonger Foundation, Rural School and Community Trust, and the Tennessee School Boards Association, follows the Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit, which was held in Nashville on July 19-20, 2011.

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SCORE Conference Turns Into ‘Jobs Summit’

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They held an education summit in Nashville on Tuesday and Wednesday, and it turned into a jobs summit, according to Mike Morrow.
And that’s pretty much what organizers of the event had in mind all along.
The State Collaborative on Reforming Education, the organization founded by former Sen. Bill Frist, hosted the Southeast Regional Rural Education Summit at Lipscomb University, pulling together various interests in education — from the classroom to the philanthropic realm. It was notable for its emphasis on rural areas, where issues ranging from education to unemployment can be difficult and complex
But it was clear the event was not simply about educating kids in rural communities. It was about preparing them for the workforce and, in turn, boosting the economy in those rural areas.
“It’s making real this close connection between education and jobs,” said Jamie Woodson, the former state senator and president of SCORE.
“They’re so interrelated. It’s not just something we talk about theoretically. It really is a matter of economic viability for these communities around our state and the families that support those communities.”

In New Job, Woodson Moves to SCORE Points With TEA

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Just a couple of weeks after joining other legislative Republicans in voting to scuttle teacher collective bargaining and otherwise restrict the Tennessee Education Association, soon-to-be-former state Sen. Jamie Woodson invited TEA President Gina Summerford to breakfast, reports Chas Sisk.
Woodson says she’s leaving the political life behind, and she wanted to show Summerford the two could be allies.
“She told me she was interested in meeting in a friendly manner in her new role,” Summerford said after the two met last Tuesday. “I think one of the strengths of SCORE has been its ability to bring some people together, and I think Jamie sees her role there as continuing that.”
The State Collaborative on Reforming Education, which is better known by its initials SCORE, has helped set the stage for the efforts over the last two years to remake Tennessee’s schools. Now, SCORE wants to have a say in how those reforms are put into place.
In Woodson, the organization has named as its new president a political up-and-comer with a reputation for avoiding ideological battles. But Woodson’s profile has been battered by her party’s confrontation with the TEA, a conflict that Woodson is seen as having done little to defuse.
Repairing that damage could be the key to SCORE’s efforts to lead the effort to improve Tennessee’s struggling schools.
Woodson wants to move SCORE beyond its supporting role in the education reforms championed by Govs. Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam. She wants SCORE to be seen as a major source of independent expertise — a group that can help state and local officials turn the ideas debated in Nashville over the last two years into concrete results.
“I think it’s very important for us all to keep our eye on the ball, and that’s improving student achievement,” Woodson said. “Sometimes those conversations get a little bit uncomfortable, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to ensure that you’re keeping your priorities and moving forward.”

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Jamie Woodson Resigning Senate Seat

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Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Jamie Woodson announced today that she will resign her state Senate seat to become president and CEO of an education reform organization founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
Republican Woodson, who has served 12 years as a legislator from Knoxville, said her resignation as a senator will be effective on July 1 or at the adjournment of the current legislative session, whichever comes first. Legislative leaders have a goal of adjourning by May 25.
Under state law, the Knox County Commission will chose an temporary successor in the Senate District 7 seat, who will serve until a special election is scheduled by the governor. That could be timed to coincide with Knoxville city elections on Sept. 27.
Woodson said she would not support anyone to succeed her, “either publicly or privately.”
Frist said Woodson was chosen to lead the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) after a nationwide search for the most qualified person.

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