In today’s episode, Nolan Combs, TSBA Director of Government Relations, discusses the importance of advocacy in public education and why it matters to be an effective advocate. Whether you are a board member or a Director of Schools, today’s episode contains helpful information when considering the legislative landscape for the school district.

In today’s episode, Wright Cox, Collierville Board Chairman; Leigh Anne Rainey, Chief Academic Officer; and Jana Church, Intervention and Special Populations Supervisor, discuss their English Learners program and how they are using this program to empower students from diverse backgrounds to overcome language barriers and succeed academically. Listen today to hear insights on how they have structured this program as well as the resources they have adopted to support these students. Whether you are a board member, educator, parent, or community member, this episode offers a comprehensive look at the impact and future of English Learner programs across Tennessee.

In today’s episode, David Lowrie, State Director, and Jake Davis, State President, discuss the TN Bass Nation High School and Youth Program and how this program has impacted students across the state of Tennessee. Listen today to learn how to get your school district involved.

https://tbnhsy.com

David Lowrie, TN State Director dlowrie@benlomand.net

Jake Davis, TBN State President sctnbassnation@gmail.com 615-613-2382

In today’s episode, Dr. Tammy Grissom, TSBA Executive Director, Ben Torres, TSBA Assistant Executive Director/General Counsel, and Nolan Combs, TSBA Director of Government Relations, discuss the importance of data and why it is such an important tool for school boards to utilize when making decisions for their school districts. Listen today to learn how to access the different types of data available to school boards across Tennessee.

Show Notes

Please see below the links to access the data mentioned during today’s podcast episode.

TSBA District Data Dashboard (Tennessee School Boards Association)

• • Provides district and regional labor market statistics, along with district demographics, academic, and financial data.
    
    

Academic Supply for Occupational Demand Report (Tennessee Higher Education Commission and Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation)

• • Provides districts with information on in-demand occupations and aligned academic programs in Tennessee.
    
    

County Profiles (Tennessee Higher Education Commission)

• • Provides an overview of higher education data by county, including college-going rate, socioeconomic profile, FAFSA filing rate, top colleges by attendance for high school graduates, etc.
    
    

Tennessee Educator Survey (Tennessee Education Research Alliance, Tennessee Department of Education)

• • Serves as the largest-scale data collection on Tennessee teacher perspectives on a range of topics, including school climate and leadership, instructional practice, teacher evaluation and instructional improvement, and standards and assessment. Includes district- and school-level data where the response rate is at least 45 percent.
    
    

Tennessee State Report Card (Tennessee Department of Education)

• • Features extensive information about the growth and achievement of Tennessee schools and districts. The report card also includes financial, enrollment, and demographic information.
    
    

Data Downloads (Tennessee Department of Education)

• • Serves as a landing page for multiple sources of raw data from the Tennessee Department of Education, including data on such topics as achievement, growth, discipline, chronic absenteeism. For the first time last year, the department released Educator Race and Ethnicity Data on this page.
    
    

Tennessee Educator Preparation Report Card (Tennessee State Board of Education, Tennessee Department of Education)

• • Provides data on the effectiveness of educator preparation providers.

[Re-Air] In today’s episode, I’m speaking with Keys Fillauer, 2021 President-Elect and Board Chairman of the Oak Ridge Board of Education, as he discusses the top attributes needed to be an effective board chairman. The chairman carries a heavy responsibility, and certain skills and actions are required in order for the chairman to conduct his/her duties in an efficient manner.

In today’s episode, Dr. Steve Barnett, Director of Schools for Johnson City Schools, Kathy Hall, Chair of the Johnson City Board of Education, and Dr. Greg Wallace, Supervisor of Safety and Mental Health discuss Johnson City Schools’ Heroes Program – a comprehensive set of services designed to meet a wide range of student mental health and safety needs – and how it has benefitted their students. Listen today to learn how to create a similar program in your school district.

https://www.jcschools.org/school-safety

In today’s episode, Brian Hutto, Director of Schools of Lebanon Special Schools, Mike Kurtz, Director of Operations, and Officer Dusty Burton share the importance of school safety and introduce Blaze, their newest resource to ensure that all students and district employees are safe while at school. Listen in as they explain why the Lebanon Special Board of Education felt this program was needed within the district as well as how to successfully replicate a similar program in your district.

Shownotes

Lebanon Special School District “Paws on Patrol” - https://www.lssd.org/apps/news/article/1795952

Global K9 - https://globalk9protectiongroup.com

In today’s episode, the TSBA Staff Attorneys are back and answering the most asked legal questions received from board members across the state. This version of “Ask the Attorney” focuses solely on questions regarding the law around board policy. Questions from “what is the function of the policy committee” to “how can a board member propose a policy change” are tackled during today’s episode.