Tennessee

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in Tennessee
A five photo collage on dark blue paper of principal Catherine Diezi and others from school.
Photos: Brad Vest for Education Week; Design: Gina Tomko/Education Week via Canva
School & District Management In Their Own Words 'What Happened to Sherman?': A Principal Who Can't Shake the Memory of One Special Student
Catherine Diezi shared her love for literature with staff and students. She'll remember how that transformed their lives.
Denisa R. Superville, June 23, 2023
3 min read
Illustration of woman and steps made of cash.
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Teaching Profession Teachers in 6 States Will Get Raises. More Could Join Them
Lawmakers in 23 states proposed bills to raise teacher salaries, but not all of the policies are straightforward pay bumps.
Libby Stanford, June 22, 2023
5 min read
Pregnant teacher wearing N95 Face mask and standing in front of a whiteboard holding a blue marker.
E+/Getty
Teaching Profession Paid Parental Leave for Teachers Is Happening in More States and Districts
Policymakers are hoping that the expansion of paid leave will be a recruitment and retention tool.
Madeline Will, June 22, 2023
6 min read
Protesters cheer outside Senate chambers at the Indiana Statehouse on March 22, 2023, in Indianapolis. Indiana schools may soon be required to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school, after state Senators on April 10, 2023, advanced a bill that some worry could out transgender kids to their parents.
Protesters cheer at the Indiana Statehouse on March 22, 2023, in Indianapolis. Indiana schools may soon be required to notify parents if their child requests a name or pronoun change at school, after state lawmakers advanced a bill that some advocates worry could out transgender kids to their parents.
Arleigh Rodgers/AP
Equity & Diversity Pronouns for Trans, Nonbinary Students: The States With Laws That Restrict Them in Schools
Under the laws, teachers aren’t required to use trans or nonbinary students’ requested pronouns.
Eesha Pendharkar, June 14, 2023
7 min read
Teachers walk out onto a field of speech bubble shaped holes.
Collage by Vanessa Solis/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty Images)
Social Studies Social Studies Groups Are Training Teachers to Navigate 'Divisive Concepts' Laws
They're teaching how to defend the discipline against charges of indoctrination and maintain quality despite curricular restrictions.
Sarah Schwartz, June 8, 2023
8 min read
A crowd of high school students stands in front of the Tennessee State Capitol holding protest signs calling for an end to gun violence.
Students protest gun violence in schools in front of the Capitol on April 3, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. The protest was held one week after six people were killed by a shooter at The Covenant School, a private Presbyterian school, in Nashville.
Mark Humphrey/AP
School Climate & Safety After the Nashville Shooting, School Safety Proposals Echo Past Efforts
State and federal lawmakers have proposed increasing school police and arming teachers in response to a shooting at a private school.
Evie Blad, April 6, 2023
8 min read
Families leave a reunification site in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023, after a shooting at Covenant School in Nashville.
Families leave a reunification site in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023, after a shooting at The Covenant School.
John Amis/AP
School Climate & Safety What the Tragedy in Nashville Reveals About School Safety
A rapid response, security measures in the building, and warning signs before the attack offer lessons on safety.
Evie Blad & Arianna Prothero, March 28, 2023
9 min read
A woman and child bring flowers to lay at the entry to Covenant School which has becomes a memorial for shooting victims, Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.
A woman and child bring flowers on March 28, 2023, to the entry to The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., where six people were killed in a mass shooting the day before.
John Amis/AP
School Climate & Safety What We Know About the Nashville School Shooting Victims
The Nashville community mourned the loss of three children and three adults after a shooter attacked The Covenant School.
Libby Stanford & Caitlynn Peetz, March 28, 2023
4 min read
An ambulance leaves Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023. Officials say three adults and three children were killed in a shooting at the private Christian grade school in Nashville. The suspect is also dead after a confrontation with police.
An ambulance leaves The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27, 2023, after a shooting at the private Christian school killed three students and three staff members. The shooter is also dead after a confrontation with police inside the school.
John Amis/AP
School Climate & Safety 3 Students, 3 Staff Dead in Shooting at Private Elementary School in Nashville
The attack at The Covenant School was the 13th school shooting this year that resulted in injuries or deaths.
Evie Blad, March 27, 2023
3 min read
States Here's How 4 States Spent Their ESSER Money
The Council of Chief State School Officers highlighted how state education agencies have used federal pandemic aid.
Libby Stanford, March 21, 2023
5 min read
Searching knowledge concept. Men and women stand next to book and find necessary information. Independent training and education.
Rudzhan Nagiev/iStock
Reading & Literacy Opinion How to Make the Science of Reading Work for Teachers
One state took a different path with good initial results, writes a state chief academic officer.
Lisa Coons, March 21, 2023
5 min read
Hudson Hites works on sentence diagramming in Terri Foughty's seventh grade English class in Newcastle, OK, Thursday, March 30, 2017.
Hudson Hites works on sentence diagramming in Terri Foughty's seventh grade English class in Newcastle, OK, Thursday, March 30, 2017. <br/>
Sue Ogrocki<br/>/AP
Reading & Literacy This District Made Writing an Integral Part of Its Teaching, and It's Paying Off
Curriculum leaders in Sumner County, Tenn., say students' test scores and confidence have been on the rise.
Caitlynn Peetz, February 23, 2023
1 min read
Student Well-Being Video ‘I Wished I Could Help Tyre’: Memphis 2nd Graders Use Art, Expression to Foster Change
One Memphis teacher is using art to help her 2nd graders process, heal, and grow in the wake of Tyre Nichols' death.
Jaclyn Borowski , February 22, 2023
3:25
On this vocabulary wall, 2nd grade teacher Macey Fleming collects words from the texts that students have read throughout the unit--words that students can use in their writing.
The vocabulary wall shows words in a 2nd grade classroom collected from the texts that students have read throughout the unit. Students can use the words in their writing.
Narayan Mahon for Education Week
Reading & Literacy Q&A How One District Found Success by Overhauling Writing Instruction
The district anchored its new approach to writing in rich content linked to its new English/language arts curriculum.
Caitlynn Peetz, January 17, 2023
9 min read