Section 2: SCORE Card
Increasing the Capacity of the
Tennessee Department of Education
To ensure the state can carry out all of its recent
reforms, the state must ensure it has a highly
effective Department of Education. Historically,
the Department has been focused on maintaining
district and school-level compliance with federal
education mandates. Now, under the leadership of
new Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, the
Department must transform itself from a complianceoriented to a service-oriented organization.
Specifically, Commissioner Huffman must focus on
recruiting top-caliber staff to the department to
carry out various reforms, including a top-notch
Achievement School District Superintendent to help
turnaround the state’s lowest performing schools.
Additionally, the department should continue to
leverage outside partners, including those from the
non-profit, foundation, and business community,
to provide additional resources and expertise
as necessary. The Department must also ensure
these external partners are well-coordinated and
accountable for delivering effective services.
In addition, the Department must focus on providing
districts with support to implement the state’s many
reforms. Specifically, the Department should consider
significantly increasing the capacity of its regional
field service centers so that they can meaningfully
support individual districts in implementing reforms.
For example, the Department’s regional offices should
be responsible for ensuring that district and school
leaders understand the state’s various reform efforts,
convening district and school leaders to share best
practices, and facilitating professional development
opportunities on key topics such as how to use data
to improve instruction.
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The State of Education In Tennessee
The State of Education In Tennessee
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