America’s schools are more diverse than ever. But the teachers are still mostly white.
Almost three-fourths of Nashville’s public school population are students of color. In contrast, a look at Nashville teachers reveals the opposite— with 72% of teachers identifying as white (according to MNPS warehouse data received by the Scarlett Family Foundation). This racial gap between students and educators reflects a national trend, the Washington Post found, as America’s public school...Read More
5 Things Districts Can Do to Keep Ahead of Population Changes — and Avoid Enrollment, Planning and Budgetary Disasters
As Nashville continues to be one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, school districts in the region must keep up with the population changes – especially when considering how to adjust their planning and resources. Today, Metro Nashville Public Schools must grapple with dramatic shifts in enrollment— particularly as some regions of the city see schools literally “bursting at...Read MoreSix-Figure Price Tags Are Coming to Colleges
The rising cost of college, particularly at the nation’s most prestigious institutions, could soon top $100,000. As these numbers continue to rise, students and families will inevitably be priced out of the most selective— and elite— colleges. Although many families receive some amount of financial aid to offset the sticker price (the full cost of tuition and fees), colleges depend on tuition...Read More
Tennessee edges toward the top half of states on the Nation’s Report Card, thanks to drops elsewhere
This week, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released results from its 2019 assessment. Called “The Nation’s Report Card,” NAEP is a nationwide education assessment administered by the federal government every other year to track student achievement. This year’s results revealed that while most states remained flat or declined in reading and math, Tennessee’s student...Read MoreIn a city where low literacy levels ‘take your breath away,’ here’s how one Detroit school is teaching third-graders to read
What happens when 5,000 students leave third grade without reading on grade level— year after year? That is the challenge facing the city of Detroit, Michigan. Unfortunately, Detroit is far from alone in this third-grade literacy crisis. In fact, Nashville’s numbers rival Detroit’s. With only 28.8 percent of Metro Nashville Public Schools students on track in English Language Arts , 4500...Read MoreTennessee graduation rate hits all-time high in the 2018-19 school year
The state of Tennessee released graduation data for the 2018-2019 school year. There’s good news: the graduation rate has increased— reaching 89.7%— and is the highest the state has ever seen. The Tennessean shares the key takeaways: The state increased its overall graduation rate to 89.7% and gained half a percentage point over the previous year. Over 72,000 students graduated in 2018-19,...Read MoreMillions of Students Are Chronically Absent Each Year. Improve School Conditions and More Kids Will Show Up, Report Argues
This week, the American Institutes for Research and Attendance Works released a new report on the issues contributing to student chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 18 days of school a year). In it, the authors zoom in on the factors that affect student attendance, factors both inside the school building and out. The report also makes recommendations for encouraging attendance,...Read More
