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posted by: Bass, Joseph A - MNPS at Dec 20, 2012 9:01:00 AM
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Cover courtesy of The Nashville Scene and photographer Michael W. Bunch
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What a way to end 2012.
Two teachers in Metro Schools have been named Nashvillians of the Year by the Nashville Scene. Adam Taylor of Overton High School and Christina McDonald of Nashville Prep Charter School represent the teachers who "give Nashville's schoolchildren, no matter what their background, a fighting chance to reach their brightest future."
In a lengthy and detailed article, reporter Steven Hale lays out the bare - and sometimes forgotten - fact in our city's current debate over education: whether charter school or district school, great teachers are at the center of great education.
It's a great piece, and I strongly recommend you take a few moments to read the full article so you can see how teachers like Christina and Adam can bring the focus of the education discussion back where it belongs.
The Scene would like to refocus the discussion of public education not on differences and squabbles, but on the enormous asset that charter and public schools have in common: the teachers who are the most active, direct agents of hope Nashville's children will face outside the home. As our 2012 Nashvillians of the Year, the Scene honors two such instructors: one from a charter school, Christina McDonald at Nashville Prep, and one from a traditional Metro district school, Adam Taylor at Overton High.
They are hardly alone. Space does not permit us to list the many outstanding district and charter teachers who slug it out in Nashville's trenches throughout the school year, fighting the shared enemies of poverty, hunger, troubled home lives, behavioral problems, language barriers, bad outside influences and limited resources. But McDonald and Taylor are sterling examples of what can be accomplished by creative thinking, supportive administrators, and sheer determination. To look inside their classrooms is to see small miracles happen every day — and to see a brighter future for Nashville schoolchildren of all races and backgrounds than statistics sometimes let us hope. |
Read the full article here.
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Sep 18, 2012 12:32:00 PM
Statement on Tennessee Department of Education’s Decision to Cut Funding to
Metro Nashville Public Schools
Funding supports district’s 81,000 children
September 18, 2012
This morning, the district first heard from the State Department of Education about its decision to cut the Metro Schools Basic Education Program allocation by almost $3.4 million in October. We are very disappointed.
BEP is a funding formula and not a spending plan, so there are no funds earmarked for "administrative costs." The BEP formula for non-classroom expenses includes utilities, student transportation, maintenance and other things that directly affect our 81,000 students and 5,000 classrooms. None of these items are in any way linked to charter school approval processes.
We do not yet have a plan on how we will respond to this disruptive mid-year cut. Our priority will always be to give the best education to our students with the resources we have. Budget amendments require action by the Metro Nashville Board of Education.
Metro Nashville has earned national recognition for its rigorous process to review charter school applications and its process is considered a national model. The Board of Education had genuine concerns about the Great Hearts application and how the district manages diversity. The Board approved four other applications this cycle and the number of charter schools in the district has increased from four in 2009, when the process was adopted, to 14 this year. Six more are approved to open by 2013, for a total of 20.
We believe children will benefit when the State Department of Education, the State Board of Education, and the local Board of Education and school district work together. In Metro Nashville, we are committed to improving student achievement and to collaborating with the State, quality charter school operators and the people of Nashville for our children.
-MNPS-
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posted by: Mashburn, Noelle B - MNPS at Dec 07, 2010 12:19:00 PM
Leaders in nine communities across the U.S. have signed on to a District-Charter Collaboration Compact, an initiative to highlight new ways that public charter schools and traditional public schools are working to provide high quality education for all students. Cities committed to the Compact include Baltimore, Md., Denver, Colo., Hartford, Conn., Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Minn., Nashville, Tenn., New Orleans, La., New York City and Rochester, N.Y. In response to requests by school districts and charter school leaders for such a collaboration, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has supported the development of public agreements in cities where the traditional district schools and public charter schools are eager to work together to share best practices and provide all children in their communities with a public school education that prepares them with the skills and knowledge to succeed in college and the workforce.The full release is below.
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