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.

More than 30 community and business leaders turned out this morning for the Academy VIP Tour at Antioch High School. The Academies of Nashville are Metro Schools’ innovative approach to redesigning its 12 zoned high schools, impacting 15,000 students with the goal of preparing every graduate for college and an eventual career. School districts across the country are coming to Nashville to see this approach, so we are hosting these VIP tours in partnership with Metro Schools so our city leaders see the transformation of our high schools firsthand.

Director of Schools Dr. Jesse Register talked about the difficult, but necessary, goal of improving instruction across the district’s 5,000 classrooms. Teacher team leader Mary Beth White told the group this was happening at Antioch, where teachers plan together in teams, invite business partners into the classroom, and show students how the state’s academic standards relate to skills in the “real world.”

Antioch’s academy partners -- Deloitte, Tennessee Credit Union, Nissan North America, Just Cruisin’ Plus, and Trevecca Nazarene University -- were represented at the tour, and were able to share the different ways business and postsecondary partners support their academies.

A highlight of the tour was visiting the Tennessee Credit Union branch that operates inside the school during the lunch periods. Run by fully trained students in the Tennessee Credit Union Academy of Business & Finance, they open accounts and process deposits and withdrawals every day. The group also made visits to the Academy of Teaching & Service, the Academy of Hospitality, and the Academy of Technology & Communication. The student ambassadors conducting the tour enjoyed interacting with state leaders (Dr. Gary Nixon, director of the state board of education); local business leaders (Ric Pennisi, Ben Freeland, David Swett); and clergy with Nashville’s faith community (Rev. Bruce Maxwell and Rev. Harold Frelix).

We’d like to especially recognize and thank the 10 state and local elected officials who took time out of their day today to see firsthand the progress in Nashville’s public high schools:
State Representative Jim Gotto
State Representative Sherry Jones
Metro Council member Fabian Bedne
Metro Council member Brady Banks
Metro Council member Duane Dominy
Metro Council member Jacobia Dowell
Metro Council member Karen Johnson
Metro Council member Jason Potts
School Board member JoAnn Brannon
School Board member Cheryl Mayes

We’re gearing up for another big crowd at the next Academies VIP Tour at Stratford High School on October 25!
Click here for more photos from the VIP Tour of Antioch High School.


Gina Hatchett, a student in the Academy of Teaching & Service, talks about the advanced placement courses she is taking, her paid summer internship, and her desire to pursue a career as an attorney.


Antioch academy partner Sherry Funk, with Just Cruisin’ Plus, shares with the touring group how she supports students and teachers in the Academy of Hospitality (listening, L-R: Rashonda Harris with Nissan North America, Rep. Sherry Jones, Councilmember Brady Banks, Councilmember Jacobia Dowell, Councilmember Fabian Bedne).


Rep. Jim Gotto and Chamber Report Card Co-Chair Ron Corbin interact with the students inside Antioch High School’s Tennessee Credit Union branch.

This week, I got a chance to visit a classroom of students at my alma mater, Antioch High School. The 13 students were taking an Intro to Business class that would simultaneously give them one high school credit and two college credits through Nashville State Community College (NSCC). NSCC assistant professor Cliff Rockstead was teaching the class and shared with me how impressed he was with the students' commitment and ability.

NSCC has more than 1,300 high school students taking dual enrollment during the school year in their seven-county region, but this was their first summer class. Not only is it commendable that these students took time out of their summer break to get a head start on their college education, enrollment in the class at Antioch and dual-enrollment IT class at Overton exceeded the district’s expectations. Students recognize opportunities that have real educational value.

This college credit-earning opportunity was provided to these students at no cost through a variety of partners. The state’s Hope Scholarship program, funded by lottery revenues, underwrites most of the tuition for up to six hours of dual-enrollment credit a year for qualified high school juniors and seniors. That support, important as it is, still leaves students with a modest tuition balance and the full cost of textbooks. In addition, sophomores aren’t eligible for the lottery program, and some older students in the summer class had already used up their six hours. The funding gaps in all these scenarios were covered by a $15,000 grant provided to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce by Deloitte, with additional funds being provided by Mayor Dean’s One Step Ahead program through NSCC’s Foundation.

Deloitte focuses much of its community philanthropy on education, with the goal of getting more high school graduates to college. They were attracted to the dual-enrollment program as a strategy to increase the college-going rate. After all, every college credit these high school students earn brings them that much closer to a college degree. Tom Aaron, Tennessee managing partner for Deloitte and a member of the Chamber’s CEO Champions, talked to the students about the region’s workforce projections and explained that a college degree is a must-have for any young person hoping for a prosperous career.

Metro Schools has set the ambitious goal of every high school student graduating with college credit, a professional certification, or, ideally, both. Programs like the summer dual-enrollment classes sponsored by Deloitte and NSCC’s Foundation are bringing us closer to that goal. But if we really want to unleash the potential of the tens of thousands of students in our region’s high schools who are capable of performing college work early, we’ll invest a greater proportion of the lottery scholarship dollars into programs like dual enrollment and really start to move the needle on our college completion rates.


The students in the Antioch High School Intro to Business dual-enrollment summer class with Tom Aaron and John Doerge from Deloitte, their instructor Cliff Rockstead, their new principal Brian Mast and Academy Coach Pam Appleton.


Tom Aaron of Deloitte talks to two dual-enrollment students at Antioch.

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

Antioch High School received a much-deserved “congratulations” from the district office and business partners at their faculty meeting this week. When the state released the report card results for the 2009-2010 school year this month, Antioch made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under No Child Left Behind. The school’s status is now listed as “School Improvement 2—Improving.” If the school can make AYP again next year, it will move into Good Standing.

This is especially rewarding for Antioch, because the school was an early adopter of the move to smaller learning communities (SLCs) and high school academies. In fact, the announcement of the federal SLC grant that helped accelerate the district-wide reform was made at Antioch’s freshman academy in 2006, which at that time, was housed across the street in the just-completed Kennedy Middle School facility. The new state report card shows that Antioch’s aggressive implementation of academies has resulted in increased student engagement. The school’s 92.7% attendance rate is second only to Overton among the zoned 9-12 high schools, and the school’s graduation rate rose from 74.7% in 2009 to 82.2% in 2010.

Strong business partnerships have been part of the success, and John Doerge of Deloitte & Touche was also on hand for the kudos. Teachers and staff finished the meeting with a piece of celebration cake, provided by Nashville’s business community in recognition for their hard work and determination.