News Releases « State Collaborative on Reforming Education

Frist Names Jamie Woodson SCORE President and CEO

April 14th, 2011

Education Leader and Senate Speaker Pro Tempore to Lead Tennessee-Based Reform Organization

(Nashville) – The Chairman of the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist announced today that Jamie Woodson will lead the organization as President and Chief Executive Officer, following a national search for the position. Woodson, an attorney who currently serves as Speaker Pro Tempore of the Tennessee State Senate, will resign from the General Assembly at the end of the current legislative session to begin her new role at SCORE.

“Improving public education has been the hallmark of Jamie Woodson’s career in public service and her commitment to student achievement and growth has been remarkable,” Frist said. “As SCORE’s President and CEO, Jamie will not only lead one of the nation’s most innovative education reform organizations, but will have the unique opportunity to continue bringing about meaningful change for Tennessee’s children by working with educators, policymakers, philanthropists, business leaders, and parents.”

During her 12 years in the General Assembly, Woodson has helped spearhead Tennessee’s education reform efforts. She chaired the Senate Education Committee from 2005 until 2009, and during that time led successful efforts to overhaul the Basic Education Program (BEP), the mechanism for funding K-12 public education in Tennessee. In 2009, she sponsored key revisions to the Tennessee Public Charter School Act, resulting in more charter schools, expanded student eligibility, and increased statewide public and philanthropic support.

In 2010, Woodson served on Tennessee’s five-member Race to the Top pitch team, which helped secure the more than $500 million grant by demonstrating Tennessee’s commitment to reforming K-12 public schools to the U.S. Department of Education. Since then, she has chaired Tennessee’s First to the Top Advisory Council, a panel of national and state education experts that provides strategic guidance on implementation of the state’s landmark Race to the Top reforms.

“I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to lead SCORE at such a critical time for Tennessee,” Woodson said. “As a legislator, supporting and improving public education in Tennessee has truly been my passion. There is no higher priority for parents, school systems, and our state. While I will miss my work in the legislature, this new opportunity is a natural continuation of the work in which I have already been engaged, and gives me the opportunity to dedicate 100 percent of my efforts to improving public education in our state.”

Woodson’s first task at SCORE will be leading a strategic planning process to chart the organization’s future. This planning work, which will be supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will help define and expand SCORE’s ongoing activities in areas such as advocacy, policy, research, and technical assistance.

“Since launching in 2009, SCORE has done an excellent job of building and maintaining the case for meaningful education reform,” Frist said. “Looking ahead, we want to make sure the organization is properly positioned to support the work of state government and our local school systems. No one is better suited for this role than Jamie Woodson.”

Woodson will resign from the State Senate effective July 1, 2011, or at the close of business on the last day of the current legislative session, whichever comes first. Woodson will begin her work at SCORE at that time.

Woodson’s photo, for media use, is available here.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

SCORE Releases Annual ‘State of Education in Tennessee’ Report

March 24th, 2011

Frist: Tremendous Progress Has Been Made – Important Work Still Remains

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today released its annual State of Education in Tennessee report. SCORE Chairman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist presented the report during SCORE’s quarterly Steering Committee meeting of major education stakeholders from across Tennessee.

“To be economically competitive and increase job growth, Tennessee must improve its public education system,” said SCORE Chairman Bill Frist. “This annual report gives a comprehensive look at education reform in Tennessee, highlights innovative successes across the state, and gives clear recommendations and direction for improvement in public K-12 education. Tremendous progress has been made in the Volunteer State in the last year. But this report clearly shows that important work remains to ensure that every Tennessee child graduates high school prepared for college or the workforce.”

The report includes a Year In Review, outlining the significant progress that Tennessee made in education in 2010, and highlights four “Promising Practices” of innovative reform efforts in different regions of the state.

In addition, the report outlines four priorities that SCORE believes will be crucial to continued progress in 2011. These priorities include:

Sustained policy leadership in education reform from state leaders, including legislators, educators, and business and community leaders. These leaders must ensure that recent reforms are successfully implemented and push forward with other reforms, especially those related to more directly connecting the state’s new teacher evaluations system to hiring, tenure, and compensation decisions.
A comprehensive strategy for improving the pipeline of district and school leaders through the launching of a statewide initiative to create a network of high quality school leadership programs. These programs would recruit, train, and support highly effective school leaders.
A relentless focus on instructional quality by ensuring that there is an effective teacher at the front of every classroom. This requires connecting the state’s new teacher evaluation system to high-quality feedback and professional development opportunities, and by creating and expanding mentoring programs for new and low-performing teachers.
Increasing the capacity of the Tennessee Department of Education by aggressively recruiting high-quality staff to the Department, and strengthening the Department’s regional offices so they can support individual local districts in implementing reforms

“These four priorities are crucial to maintaining the historic momentum in education that Tennessee has experienced,” said Senator Frist. “They are based in the belief that successful implementation, and not just policy change, is critical to seeing real improvement in student achievement.”

The full report can be viewed here: http://www.tnscore.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Score-2010-Annual-Report-Full.pdf

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

ADVISORY: Frist and SCORE to Release “State of Education in Tennessee” Report

March 21st, 2011

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) will release its annual State of Education in Tennessee report on Thursday, March 24. SCORE Chairman and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist will present the report at a press conference during SCORE’s quarterly Steering Committee meeting. Committee members include major education stakeholders from across Tennessee.

WHO: Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and SCORE Chairman Bill Frist
WHAT: SCORE releases its annual State of Education in Tennessee report, highlighting innovative successes in education reform, recommendations for improvement in public K-12 education, and public education data
WHEN: Thursday, March 24, 2PM Central (media setup at 1:45PM)
WHERE: First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University, First Floor, 1207 18th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37212
DIRECTIONS: The First Amendment Center is located on the edge of Vanderbilt’s campus, near the intersection of 18th Avenue South and Edgehill Avenue. Parking is across the street.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

SCORE Releases Video in Support of Tenure Reform

March 15th, 2011

Frist: “It’s Time to Move to a System that Rewards Excellence in the Classroom”

(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) today released a video, narrated by Dr. Bill Frist, Chairman of SCORE and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, on the importance of reforming Tennessee’s tenure system as a way to improve teacher effectiveness.

“Teachers are the most important factor in determining how much a student learns,” said Dr. Frist. “A crucial step in ensuring there is a great teacher at the front of every classroom is reforming the way Tennessee grants tenure. Tenure should be a reward for excellent teachers and an incentive for others to improve. The legislation proposed by Governor Haslam and currently moving through the General Assembly will make tenure for teachers meaningful by clearly tying it to classroom performance.”

The video highlights recent statistics on teacher effectiveness and tenure, and encourages Tennesseans to sign a SCORE-sponsored petition supporting tenure reform at www.tenurereform.com.

Video text: “Every child deserves a great teacher. Of all of the factors that determine how much a student learns, research has shown that teachers are the most important¹. Unfortunately, Tennessee has done a poor job of rewarding great teachers, and identifying which ones need improvement. Tennessee’s students have fallen behind the rest of the nation², yet 99% of teachers received a “satisfactory” rating on their evaluations³ and 90% go on to receive tenure⁴. Of the 65,000 teachers who work in Tennessee, only 50 tenured teachers are removed from their jobs each year, or 0.07%⁵. It’s no surprise that 57% of teachers say there is a tenured teacher in their school who is performing poorly⁶. The truth is that teachers are a diverse group of professionals with different skills and levels of ability. Shouldn’t tenure be a reward for great teachers, and an incentive for others to improve? It’s time for Tennessee to ditch its “one-size-fits-all” approach to granting tenure, and move to a system that rewards excellence in the classroom. Join SCORE and sign the petition to make tenure meaningful by tying it to classroom performance. Because every child deserves a great teacher.”

¹Weisman, D.; Sexton, S.; Mulhern, J.; Kneeling, D. (2009). The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness. The New Teacher Project; Jonah E. Rockoff (2004). The Impact of Individual Teachers on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Data. The American Economic Review (94); Rivkin, S.G.,. Hanushek, E.A., .Kain, J.F. (2005). Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement. Econometrica, 73(2).

²U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. (2010). NAEP State Comparisons. Retrieved from National Center for Education Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/statecomparisons/.

³Moore, R. (2008). Teacher Tenure in Tennessee. Tennessee Office of Research and Educational Accountability.

⁴Gauther, K. (2010, April). “Jobs for life?”. Chattanooga Times Free Press.

⁵Moore, R. (2008). Teacher Tenure in Tennessee. Tennessee Office of Research and Educational Accountability.

⁶Weisman, D. et al (2009). The Widget Effect: Our National Failure to Acknowledge and Act on Differences in Teacher Effectiveness. The New Teacher Project.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

Statement from Bill Frist on Appointment of Kevin Huffman as TN Commissioner of Education

March 3rd, 2011

(Nashville) – Dr. Bill Frist, chairman of the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, released the following statement today on the appointment of Kevin Huffman as Tennessee Commissioner of Education:

“Kevin Huffman is exactly the type of reform-minded individual that Tennessee needs to lead its public school system. Kevin’s experience in the classroom, in education law, and in leadership at one of our nation’s most innovative education organizations gives him the unique knowledge and background to make a significant positive impact on behalf of our state’s children. Tennessee has transformed into a national leader in education reform in the last few years, and with Kevin’s leadership we are poised for even greater success.”

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

Statement from Bill Frist on Release of Tennessee Education Data

January 7th, 2011

(Nashville) – Dr. Bill Frist, chairman of the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader, released the following statement today on the release of the 2009-2010 Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress data and state Report Card on Pre-K-12 Education:

“The data released today mark a significant step in education reform in Tennessee as they reflect new, rigorous academic standards. While Tennessee’s new standards will help ensure every child graduates high school prepared for college or the workforce, today’s data show our students have a long way to go in meeting these higher expectations. Communities across our state must come together to support principals, teachers, and students as they work to meet these higher expectations.”

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education and advance innovative reform on a statewide basis.

SCORE Joins Highlands Town Hall Debate 2010

August 31st, 2010

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) is joining The Highlands, Nashville’s WTVF NewsChannel5, Tennessee Tech University, and the League of Women Voters of Tennessee as a sponsor in the Highlands Town Hall Debate 2010, a general-election gubernatorial debate scheduled for September 14 at TTU in Cookeville.

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Pledges $500k to SCORE

August 6th, 2010

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee today announced a $500,000 contribution to advance K-12 public education reform — and better health outcomes — in partnership with the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Poll: Tennesseans ‘Strongly Support’ High Standards Despite Expected Drop in Test Scores

July 26th, 2010

A sizeable majority of Tennessee voters “strongly support” high academic standards in K-12 public schools despite expectations that raising the bar will lead to lower student test scores in the short term, according to the results of a new statewide poll.

Frist, SCORE Join First to the Top Coalition

July 22nd, 2010

Governor Phil Bredesen, Education Commissioner Tim Webb and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist this week launched the First to the Top Coalition, a statewide alliance of more than 30 business, community and education groups joining together to support public education reform in Tennessee.