State of Education in Tennessee Executive Summary – 2011-12 | Page 19

SECTION 2: S CORE Card to ensure fully staffed schools by the beginning of the 2011    2 school year. The ASD also began working with the –1 other eight ASD-eligible schools this year to develop interventions even though they are not technically being comanaged. Field staff has been assigned to all 13 schools. In early 2012, the ASD began finalizing and releasing the list of schools it will be directly managing during the 2012    3 school year. In the Fall of 2011, the ASD authorized –1 three organizations — Gestalt Community Schools, Cornerstone Prep, and LEAD Public Schools — to open charters in Memphis and Nashville. In November 2011, Tennessee submitted a proposal seeking a waiver from some provisions of the No Child Left Behind law. The proposal has significant implications for the way the state identifies and supports schools with different needs, including rewarding schools that have demonstrated significant progress with student achievement and/or growth. The state also proposed establishing district innovation zones, a service-oriented model of support with state oversight that provides flexibility for making financial, programmatic, staffing, and time allocation decisions. 2012-2013 Change 2013-2014 Change 2013-2014 ASD 6 schools + 12 18 schools +17 35 schools LEA Innovation Zones 9 schools +9 18 schools +12 28 schools -2 SIG turnarounds LEA-led turnaround 35 schools 35 schools 35 schools -21 -13 22 schools 14 schools -14 0 schools Source: Tennessee’s ESEA Waiver Request, November 2011. STEM Although the state has not issued specific STEM goals, a STEM focus is integrated throughout the other priorities of the state’s plan and will drive much of the work with regard to preparing students to compete in the global marketplace. Over the last year, Tennessee established the STEM Innovation Network to share best practices, support innovative start-up efforts, and boost student achievement in STEM fields. STEM schools have been opened in Nashville and Knoxville, and both cities received grants to establish innovation hubs. 35 THE STATE OF EDUCATION IN TENNESSEE 2011–12 Additional proposals are being vetted