NATIONAL LEADERS IN EDUCATION REFORM TO CONVENE IN NASHVILLE
Nashville Mayor to host Education Summit this Friday
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 11, 2009) -
Leaders of education reform in school districts across the country will come together this Friday in Nashville for a day-long discussion on how significant improvement is being made in some of the nation’s most challenging urban schools.
Mayor Karl Dean will convene the Nashville Education Summit on the campus of Vanderbilt University on Friday, Aug. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Student Life Center, 310 25th Ave. South.
The Nashville Education Summit is aimed at engaging the local community to set the stage for Nashville to become the next major city to embrace aggressive education reform. Representatives from nonprofits, the faith-based community, parents, neighborhood leaders, business leaders and elected officials have been invited to attend.
“Together as a community, we need to explore successful education reforms that are making a difference in other major cities,” Dean said. “This summit is an opportunity for Nashville to work together, find our vision and write our own successful chapter in the story of education reform.”
A keynote address will be delivered by U.S. Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education
Jim Shelton, who serves under Secretary Arne Duncan. Other speakers include Michelle Rhee, chancellor of District of Columbia Public Schools and Dennis Walcott, deputy mayor of New York City. Gov. Phil Bredesen will offer brief remarks and introduce Shelton. Opening remarks in the morning will be made by former Sen. Bill Frist, who now chairs Tennessee SCORE, a statewide collaborative for education reform.
“Tennessee is on the forefront of a national movement to raise expectations for all students and put in place the reforms needed to ensure they have the teachers, leaders, time and support necessary to meet those expectations,” said Bredesen. “This kind of real and lasting change only comes about from the kind of shared ownership that is represented by this summit.”
Metro Nashville Public Schools, the school district for the combined city and county government of Nashville, is currently in Restructuring I under No Child Left Behind. The district fell into Restructuring I in 2008 after failing to meet state benchmarks for five years. This year, MNPS moved into Improving Status by meeting requirements for Safe Harbor.
Nashville’s school system faces numerous challenges, including a student population that is more than 70 percent economically disadvantaged, and the greatest concentration of English Language Learners (ELL) in Tennessee.
Recognizing these challenges, Dean has been a vocal proponent for education reform. He recruited Teach For America and The New Teacher Project to Nashville, and he actively advocated for legislation to expand charter school enrollment eligibility in Nashville, which was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly this spring.
The summit has been organized into several panel discussions with a keynote address during lunch. The agenda and biographies for each of the speakers are attached.
Chancellor of D.C. Public Schools Michelle Rhee (center) discusses closing the achievement gap with Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor of New York City (right) and Paul Pastorek, State Superintendent of Education for the State of Louisiana (left)
For media inquiries contact:
Janel Lacy
(615) 862-6020
janel.lacy@nashville.gov