Department of Education
Dr. Tim Webb, Commissioner
State Hosts Historic Urban Education Summit
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Education, together
with officials from four urban school districts and respective local universities,
collaborated this week for the first ever Tennessee Urban Education Enhancement
Initiative Summit. The group agreed on the need to form an Urban Task Force
later this year to facilitate the sharing of resources for urban districts
across the state.
“Urban schools face unique challenges, including greater populations of students with special needs, such as limited English and low incomes,” said Education Commissioner Lana Seivers. “But we must never forget that our teachers are the only chance that some of these students will ever have for success.”
Educators from Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County, Hamilton County, Knox County, and Memphis City Schools partnered with Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, University of Tennessee Knoxville, and University of Memphis, respectively, to discuss practices that are working in their districts. Topics included preparing leaders for urban schools, recruiting, training and retaining teachers, forging partnerships, and prioritizing needs, all geared to improving student achievement. The energized audience shared its ideas and gleaned those from others.
“If we’ve taken anything from this event, it’s that we can’t do it alone,” said Tennessee Department of Education Urban Schools Director Gwen Watson. “These participants have demonstrated a commitment to improve the quality of teaching and learning in their districts, and the relationships they formed at this summit will help everyone achieve their goals.”
Urban school systems serve about 30 percent of the state’s children. The aim of this first summit was to open dialogue and build awareness regarding urban school efforts and initiatives. Once the task force is established later this year, the group will continue to explore various topics and unite efforts for improvement in everything from parental involvement to school atmosphere to funding.
This summit was a collaborative effort between the Urban Education Specialist and the Division of Teaching and Learning with the support of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
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