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  • 2012-2013 Academy VIP Tours Set

    August 21, 2012

    Educators and policymakers from across the country are visiting Nashville to see how we are transforming the traditional high school experience. They are drawn by the extensive involvement of the business community in supporting the Academies of Nashville, with more than 170 academy partnerships across the district. They are also drawn by the results to date—the number of students proficient in high school math has increased dramatically, and the dropout rate has been cut in half, to only 2.3 percent.

    The district rolls out the red carpet for our visitors so they can see the Academies of Nashville model firsthand, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce decided to do the same for community leaders in our own city. Last year, more than 250 Nashville elected officials, faith community leaders, business executives and PTO presidents attended one of six Academy VIP Tours at McGavock, Antioch, Stratford, Whites Creek, Hillsboro and Glencliff. Since there are 12 zoned high schools implementing academies in Metro Schools, this year’s tours will feature Hillwood (September), Cane Ridge and Pearl-Cohn (November), Maplewood (December), Overton (March), and Hunters Lane (April).

    To view a brief video highlighting last year’s VIP tours, see below. To attend one of this year’s Academy VIP Tours, contact Rita McDonald at 743-3152 or rmcdonald@nashvillechamber.com.


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    Marc Hill - Policy

    Education

    Glencliff High School Academy VIP Tours Whites Creek High School Overton High School Hillwood High School Cane Ridge High School McGavock High School Pearl-Cohn High School education reform Hillsboro High School Metro Schools Hunters Lane High School Stratford High School Maplewood High School Antioch High School Academies of Nashville

  • Academy VIP Tour No. 6: Glencliff High School

    March 22, 2012

    More than 50 community leaders participated in the final Academy VIP Tour of the school year at Glencliff High School on March 14. Increasingly, Metro’s academies are garnering national—and international—recognition. Earlier this month, 60 school district leaders from around the country spent two days in our city learning about Nashville’s academy model, and a team from Nashville has been asked to make a presentation at an international conference in the UK this June. The purpose of the Academy VIP Tours is to make sure our own community leaders in Nashville are familiar with what the Academies of Nashville are, how they work, and the results to date.

    The touring group visited Glencliff’s four academies: the Ford Academy of Business, the Academy of Environmental & Urban Planning, the Academy of Medical Science & Research, and the Academy of Hospitality & Marketing. Student ambassadors led four different touring groups around the school, explaining the various offerings. In an added twist to this tour, students from Hillwood High School’s Academy of Art, Design & Communication were on hand to videotape the tours, which you can watch below.

    We’d like to thank the following elected officials for participating in the Glencliff tour:
    Metro Council member Buddy Baker
    Metro Council member Chris Harmon
    Criminal Court Clerk Howard Gentry
    School Board member Ed Kindall
    School Board member Gracie Porter

    We were also pleased to be joined by two candidates for the state legislature, Harold Love, Jr., and Jason Powell. Also touring were CEO Champions Peggy Cooning (Trevecca Nazarene University), Bill Lee (Lee Company), and Ron Samuels (Avenue Bank), as well as Chamber board member Kent Adams (Caterpillar Financial Services). Members of the PENCIL Foundation board of directors were in attendance, as was Cheryl Carrier of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

    We’d like to thank the 30 members of the Metro Council and the nine members of our state legislative delegation who attended a VIP Tour this school year. In addition, special recognition goes to all nine members of the Metropolitan Board of Education, each of whom attended at least one of the tours at Antioch, Glencliff, Hillsboro, McGavock, Stratford, or Whites Creek. We’re excited about plans for Academy VIP Tours at Cane Ridge, Hillwood, Hunters Lane, Maplewood, Overton and Pearl-Cohn during the 2012-2013 school year. To view photos from the tour, click here.


    Teacher Deborah Crosby explains what students are working on in the Ford Academy of Business.

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    Marc Hill - Policy

    Education

    Glencliff High School Cheryl Carrier Harold Love Peggy Cooning Jason Powell Gracie Porter education reform Howard Gentry MNPS Ed Kindall Buddy Baker Kent Adams Ron Samuels Chris Harmon Bill Lee Academies of Nashville

  • CEO Champions Experience the Academy Approach to Learning with Glencliff Students

    September 26, 2011

    The CEO Champions, a Chamber committee focused on the successful implementation of the academy model in Metro’s 12 zoned high schools, held their fall meeting at Glencliff High School on September 7. Co-Chair Steve Turner welcomed two new members to the group: Bill Lee, CEO of the Lee Company (partnered with Cane Ridge High School), and Dawn Rudolph, president & CEO of St. Thomas Hospital (partnered with Maplewood High School).

    The CEO Champions received a report from the PENCIL Foundation on the status of academy partnerships between schools and businesses. In a remarkable affirmation of the academy partnerships, 95 percent of the 140 partners chose to renew their partnership agreement for the 2011-2012 school year. Most of the handful of non-renewals were due to academy or pathway changes in the schools. In addition, academy partners contributed more than $1.3 million in community investment -- volunteer time, in-kind donations and cash -- during the 2010-2011 school year. As part of their "dashboard" report, the committee also learned that 27 academy teams participated in teacher externships during the summer of 2011, making rapid progress toward the goal of all 43 academy teams participating in an externship by the year 2015.

    The highlight of the meeting involved the CEO Champions working with Glencliff students on an interdisciplinary curriculum unit in the Ford Academy of Business. The group broke into five “loan committee” teams and were given the scenarios of several applicants who were seeking a loan. The teams had to evaluate the creditworthiness of each applicant and explain the rationale for their loan decision. Teacher Deborah Crosby led the exercise and showed how the curriculum unit cut across academic disciplines and helped develop 21st-century skills.


    David Klements, CEO of Qualifacts Systems, leads a conversation at the most recent CEO Champions meeting.


    Shoney’s CEO David Davoudpour congratulates a student, with fellow CEO Champions Steve Turner and Peggy Cooning.

    Click here for more photos from the meeting.

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    Marc Hill - Policy

    Education

    Glencliff High School Deborah Crosby PENCIL Foundation Ford PAS Dawn Rudolph CEO Champions Steve Turner Bill Lee

  • Chamber Announces Nominees for Inaugural Academies of Nashville Awards

    March 01, 2011



    The first-ever Academies of Nashville Awards, sponsored by Altria and Deloitte, are intended to celebrate the success and excellence in Metro Schools’ reform efforts for each of its 12 zoned high schools. A nominating committee composed of leaders from the school district, Chamber and PENCIL Foundation developed the list of nominees after soliciting input from high school teachers, administrators and staff. In making their decisions, the nominating committee considered the extent to which nominees exhibited qualities consistent with the National Standards of Practice for academies. With over 1,000 educators working in MNPS high schools and 100 academy partnerships, there was strong competition for the limited number of available nominations. We expect the competition for these nominations to be even more difficult next year, as a number of schools who have only started academies this current school year are expected to deepen their implementation and academy partnerships in 2011-2012.

    In April, all nominees will be listed on an online ballot with a description of their accomplishments. The more than 600 members of “The Academy” will each have one opportunity to vote in all the awards categories through a secret ballot managed by Deloitte. High school principals, academy coaches, and teacher team leaders will all have a vote, as will academy business partners and partnership council members. The winners in each of the awards categories will be announced at an invitation-only event on May 12. In addition, one student in each of the 12 high schools implementing academies will receive an “academy student of the year” award at the PENCIL Foundation’s Bravo luncheon on May 4.

    At the Chamber CEO Champions meeting this morning, Paul Coakley from Altria and Fran Bedard with Deloitte announced the list of honored nominees for 2011:

    Academy Teacher of the Year (CTE/Thematic Pathway)
    • Deborah Crosby, Business, Glencliff’s Academy of Business with Ford PAS
    • Jennifer Gatlin, Marketing, Hunters Lane’s Academy of Business and Marketing
    • John Marshall, Engineering, Overton’s Academy of Engineering
    • Jana Myrick, Health Science, Hillwood’s Academy of Health
    • Barclay Randall, Electronic Media, McGavock’s Academy of Digital Design and Communication
    Academy Teacher of the Year (General Education)
    • Hank Cardwell, Science, Glencliff’s Academy of Medical Science and Research
    • Dr. Clifford Cockerham, Science, Whites Creek’s Academy of Public Service
    • Naomi Williams, Math, Antioch’s Freshman Academy
    • Kalee Willingham, Science, Hillwood’s Academy of Business, Entertainment, Hospitality, and Tourism
    • Launa Wood, English, Maplewood’s Freshman Academy
    Academy Team Leader of the Year
    • Tara Baker, English, Glencliff’s Freshman Academy
    • Martha Mitchell, Math, McGavock’s Academy of Digital Design and Communication
    • Jay Salato, French, Hillwood’s Freshman Academy
    Academy Partnership of the Year, Arts, Media, and Communications Partnership Council
    • CMT and McGavock’s Academy of Digital Design and Communication
    • Nashville Education, Community, and Art Television and Hillwood’s Academy of Art, Design, and Communication
    • SAE Institute and Pearl-Cohn’s Academy of Entertainment Communication
    Academy Partnership of the Year, Business, Marketing, and IT Partnership Council
    • Deloitte and Antioch’s The Tennessee Credit Union Academy of Business and Finance
    • Permanent General Companies and McGavock’s Academy of Hospitality and Finance
    • The Tennessee Credit Union and Antioch’s The Tennessee Credit Union Academy of Business and Finance
    Academy Partnership of the Year, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Industrial Technology Partnership Council
    • Earl Swensson Associates and Glencliff’s Academy of Environmental and Urban Planning
    • LP Corporation and Overton’s Academy of Engineering
    • Vanderbilt University Center for Science Outreach and Stratford’s Academy of Science and Engineering
    Academy Partnership of the Year, Health Partnership Council
    • Dialysis Clinic, Inc. and Glencliff’s Academy of Medical Science and Research
    • HCA and Hillwood’s Academy of Health
    • Healthways, Inc. and Cane Ridge’s Academy Wellness and Healthy Living
    Academy Partnership of the Year, Hospitality and Tourism Partnership Council
    • Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau and Hillwood’s Academy of Business, Entertainment, Hospitality, and Tourism
    • Gaylord Entertainment and McGavock’s Academy of Hospitality and Finance
    • Holiday Inn Vanderbilt and Hillwood’s Academy of Business, Entertainment, Hospitality, and Tourism
    Academy Partnership of the Year, Human and Public Services Partnership Council
    • Nashville State Community College and Antioch’s Academy of Health and Human Services
    • Trevecca Nazarene University and Antioch’s Academy of Health and Human Services
    • YMCA and Cane Ridge’s Academy of Wellness and Healthy Living
    Academy Coach of the Year
    • Pam Appleton, Antioch
    • Paula Barkley, McGavock
    • Alison McArthur, Glencliff
    Externship Project of the Year
    • CMT and McGavock’s Academy of Digital Design and Communication
    • LP Corporation and Overton’s Academy of Engineering
    • The Tennessee Credit Union and Antioch’s The Tennessee Credit Union Academy of Business and Finance
    Academy Assistant Principal of the Year
    • Dr. Adrienne Battle-Koger, Glencliff’s Academy of Medical Science and Research
    • Jennifer Bell, McGavock’s Academy of Aviation and Transportation
    • Debbie Booker, Antioch’s Freshman Academy
    Executive Principal of the Year
    • Tony Majors, Executive Principal, Glencliff
    • Robbin Wall, Executive Principal, McGavock
    • Aimee Wyatt, Executive Principal, Antioch
    Counselor of the Year
    • Tiffany Littlejohn, McGavock’s Freshman Academy
    • Jennifer Marciano, Glencliff’s Academy of Hospitality and Marketing
    • Houston Ragan, Maplewood’s Freshman Academy
    Freshman Academy
    • Antioch’s Freshman Academy
    • Glencliff’s Freshman Academy
    • McGavock’s Freshman Academy
    Academy of the Year
    • Antioch’s The Tennessee Credit Union Academy of Business and Finance
    • Cane Ridge’s Academy of Architecture and Construction
    • Glencliff’s Academy of Business with Ford PAS
    • McGavock’s Academy of Health Science and Law
    • Stratford’s Academy of Science and Engineering

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    Marc Hill - Policy

    Education

    LP Corporation Glencliff High School HCA Whites Creek High School Nashville State Community College Overton High School Hillwood High School Trevecca Nazarene University Visitors Bureau Cane Ridge High School Louisiana-Pacific Corporation Academies of Nashville Awards McGavock High School Pearl-Cohn High School Healthways PENCIL Foundation education reform Holiday Inn Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau Altria Vanderbilt University MNPS Metro Schools Permanent General Tennessee Credit Union YMCA Deloitte Dialysis Clinic Hunters Lane High School Stratford High School Maplewood High School Antioch High School CMT Gaylord Entertainment Academies of Nashville Partnership Councils Academies of Nashville

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