Nashville Schools Examines Its 2005-2006 Performance by Stacy Andell

Nashville Schools Board of Education Reviews Adequate Yearly Progress Results

Every year, every school district in Tennessee must examine its performance from the pervious school year. This summer Nashville Schools had to do this as well. The Nashville Schools’ Board of Education, which included both the outgoing members from 2005-2006 and the incoming members from 2006-2007, reviewed the results from the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress. The results will help to pinpoint for Nashville Schools those areas that have improved and where continued progress is needed. Nashville Schools had both remarkable achievements in some areas and areas that continue to be a challenge. This is the third year that the majority of schools in the Nashville Schools have received a rating of Good Standing, the highest rating that can be given. The remaining schools had moved either up or down from the previous year. The number of schools in Good Standing was 81 which is the same number as last year.

Possibly the biggest gain this year for Nashville Schools is that some of the schools categorized as high poverty schools received Good Standing ratings. Two schools Kirkpatrick and Napier Elementary Schools achieved a Good Standing rating for the first time since the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress was established. These two schools are two of the highest poverty schools in Nashville School District. There ratings reflect the effort that the students, teachers, parents and principals put in last school year.

But many schools did not receive a rating of Good Standing or even the same rating as last year. Many of these schools received a lower rating than previously. This indicates that there are still lots of areas that still need improvement. Nashville Schools has made the commitment to strive for every school to receive a Good Standing rating. Each summer the Nashville Schools’ Board of Education meets to determine what steps can be taken to improve the coming school year’s scores. The difficulty is that there are a variety of factors that can influence the rating. A small adjustment in one area could affect the overall standing. With this in mind the Board tries to find a way to make every school a school that rates Good Standing.

One of the biggest concerns for the Nashville Schools’ Board of Education is the size of the District. Nashville Schools currently has around 74,000 students and must provide educational opportunities that meet the needs of this student population. Nashville School District includes both Nashville and Davidson Counties, so there are logistic concerns also. Nashville Schools are very confident about how this school year will proceed. The Nashville Schools Board of Education is a nine member body that is elected at the end of every school year composed of educators, community leaders and administrators. The members are elected in a public vote by the citizens of the Nashville School District. The Board believes that there is a real potential for all the schools to gain ratings of Good Standing by summer of 2007.

About The Author

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on Nashville schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Tennessee/Nashville/index.html