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Bredesen and Pre-K Students Celebrate 2010 Imagination Library Week

Wednesday, September 22, 2010 | 10:13 am
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and pre-kindergarten students from Crockett Elementary School in Brentwood today celebrated 2010 Imagination Library Week with a round of reading. They were joined by an executive from statewide sponsor Nissan North America. 
 
Bredesen has proclaimed September 19-25 Imagination Library Week in Tennessee and local Imagination Library affiliates in all 95 counties are bringing awareness to the free book program with the goal of boosting statewide enrollment. Nissan has been a generous sponsor of the program, giving more than half a million dollars to local Imagination Libraries where their employees live and work in Williamson, Davidson, Rutherford and Franklin counties.
Education, Books from Birth

Bredesen, Webb, Gregg Join to Raise Standards Awareness

Monday, September 20, 2010 | 01:26 pm

Students Test Scores May Dip This Year Under New, Higher Standards

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Governor Phil Bredesen, Education Commissioner Tim Webb and First to the Top Coalition partners today held an event to raise awareness about the effects Tennessee’s new and higher academic standards may have on student test scores. The Chattanooga event was hosted by Vicky Gregg, President and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, which is a member of the First to the Top Coalition.

This year’s TCAP scores, resulting from tests administered statewide in April 2010, will be the first to reflect Tennessee’s new, higher standards. Because the bar has been raised with more rigorous coursework, this year’s scores — compared with those from previous years — are expected to show a drop-off in student proficiency in key subjects including reading and mathematics.

Education, First to the Top, Education

US Dept. of Education: Tennessee to Receive $67.8 Million to Turn Around Its Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools

Thursday, September 16, 2010 | 03:57 pm
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today Tennessee will receive $67.8 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
 
Read the U.S. Department of Education news release below or online.
 
Education, First to the Top, Recovery Act, Education

Supplemental Grant Helps Schools Fund First to the Top Initiatives

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 | 10:00 am
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education has announced that seven school systems will receive funding to encourage compensation reform and enhance school turn-around strategies.
 
First to the Top funding allows the department to create a competitive supplemental fund totaling $1.5 million over the course of the next four years, $375,000 per year, for innovation in school districts whose share of funds is within the bottom 20 percent of total Local Education Agency First to the Top funds.
Education, First to the Top, Education

Bredesen Proclaims Imagination Library Week September 19-25

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 | 01:11 pm

Sponsored by Nissan, Local County Imagination Libraries Celebrate 215,000 Children Receiving Free Books and More Than 10 Million Books Delivered

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen has officially proclaimed Imagination Library Week (sponsored by Nissan) in Tennessee September 19-25, 2010.  During this week, local Imagination Library affiliates in all 95 counties are bringing awareness to the free book program and hoping to boost enrollment across the state. 

Education, Books from Birth

Race to the Top Assessment Program Grant to Benefit Tennessee

Thursday, September 02, 2010 | 09:50 am
NASHVILLE – Tennessee will share in a $170 million Race to the Top Assessment Program grant announced today by the U.S. Department of Education. Twenty-six states joined together to create the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC). Florida submitted an application in June on behalf of the 26-state consortium. The funds will be used to develop common assessments aligned to common standards for what students should learn at each grade level.
 
“The funds awarded to this partnership will allow us to create a common assessment and performance standards anchored in college and career readiness," said Governor Phil Bredesen. “This will help us reach our fundamental goal of increasing the rate at which students graduate from high school prepared for success in college and the workplace.”
Education, First to the Top, Recovery Act, Education

Tennessee Launches First to the Top Website

Monday, August 23, 2010 | 08:28 am
NASHVILLE – Tennessee has launched a new First to the Top website to help keep Tennesseans informed about the state’s Race to the Top program implementation.
 
Located online at http://www.tn.gov/firsttothetop/, the site includes Tennessee’s application and related documents, resources for educators, school systems and vendors, and details about First to the Top programs and projects. Visitors to the site can also subscribe to receive periodic updates about First to the Top implementation.
Education, First to the Top, Jobs, Recovery Act, Education

CoverKids Kicks Off Annual Enrollment Effort

Monday, August 09, 2010 | 10:12 am
Program Information Will Be Included in Back to School Packets
 
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen today announced the 2010 Back to School CoverKids outreach campaign to help enroll Tennessee’s children in the state’s free, comprehensive health insurance plan.
 
“Since 2007, we’ve used the back to school time as an opportunity to inform and remind Tennessee families about CoverKids,” said Governor Bredesen. “There are still children in our state who don’t have health insurance, and this program offers an additional option for families with uninsured kids.”
Education, Health Care, Cover Tennessee, Education

Bredesen Announces Pre-K Now Available in All 95 Counties

Tuesday, August 03, 2010 | 10:44 am
NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Education Commissioner Tim Webb today announced that Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program now extends to every school district in all 95 counties of the state. This marks the first Voluntary Pre-K classrooms for Sumner County and Washington County Schools.
 
For the 2010-11 academic year, the state’s program includes 934 Pre-K classrooms with total funding of approximately $84.7 million.
 
“I’m extremely pleased our high quality Pre-K classrooms are now available in every county of the state,” said Bredesen. “Pre-K is one of the best investments we can make in the lives of our young people, and now that opportunity is available to more parents and families who want it for their children across the state of Tennessee.”
Education, Education

Jobs for Tennessee Graduates Wins National Award

Friday, July 30, 2010 | 12:32 pm

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s Jobs for Tennessee Graduates, a partnership between the Department’s of Education and Labor and Workforce Development, has earned national recognition for the fifth consecutive year, again being awarded the highest accolade – the Five of Five award – signifying JTG students exceeded the goals of the program and earned top marks for graduation and success rates.

Education, Jobs, Education