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Nashvillians Share and Learn Academy Best Practices at National Conference

November 07, 2011

A group from Nashville flew to Southern California this past week to join more than 700 other educators from across the country to participate in the 15th annual National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC) conference. Among its many resources, NCAC confers national certification upon “model academies” after a rigorous, external review process. Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) expects several of its academies to be the first in the district to try for NCAC certification in early 2012.

The conference represents an excellent opportunity to learn from other school districts and communities, and most of the Nashville delegation consisted of principals, assistant principals or teachers who are relatively new in their academy roles. Given Nashville’s rising national stature in the academy movement, several in our group led sessions sharing some of our best practices and “lessons learned.” Jay Steele and I provided a district-level overview of the Academies of Nashville. MNPS administrators Aimee Wyatt and Jill Flaherty showed participants how an academy team should analyze school-level student data to drive improvement. Leaders at McGavock High School brought one of their major business partners to the conference, CMT, to talk about how they grew their partnership by overcoming barriers that sometimes exist between education and business. CMT executives also talked about how a business can add significant value to an academy by hosting teacher externships during the summer.

When we weren’t busy learning or sharing, we were actively promoting our city and the Academies of Nashville. That’s because the 2012 conference will take place November 8-11 at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. We’re looking forward to next year’s gathering and showing educators across the country our ambitious and innovative approach.

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Marc Hill - Policy

Education

Jill Flaherty Aimee Wyatt Jay Steele CMT National Career Academy Coalition NCAC Academies of Nashville
First Academies VIP Tour: McGavock High School

September 28, 2011
More than 20 VIPs gathered this morning at McGavock High School for the district’s first guided tour of the Academies of Nashville, Metro Schools’ innovative approach to redesigning its 12 zoned high schools. Director of Schools Dr. Jesse Register began the morning by sharing the “four Rs”—the vision of creating schools where there is academic “rigor,” content “relevance” and meaningful “relationships” with educators, so students have “readiness” for college and an eventual career. Elected officials, business executives, neighborhood association presidents and school district staff then got an overview of McGavock’s programs from principal Robbin Wall and a briefing on the school district’s strategy from Associate Superintendent for High Schools Jay Steele.

Of course, the highlight of the morning was getting a guided tour by McGavock’s outstanding student ambassadors. AT&T Tennessee President Gregg Morton shared with me how impressed he was with the students, a sentiment shared by everyone in attendance. We visited the student-run credit union inside the school, through a partnership with US Community Credit Union. We also viewed the digital design labs, where students were filming and editing video. The Academy of Health Science & Law had a crime scene lab that not only taught students about law enforcement forensics, but also the value of good lifestyle choices.

Discussion after the tour centered upon making sure the academies have the necessary “real-world” curriculum enhancements, and the academies’ role in projecting an innovative and improving public image of our schools to our community and, increasingly, across the country.

McGavock’s business partners—US Community Credit Union, CMT, Gaylord Entertainment and Permanent General—were all well-represented. We’d also like to especially recognize and thank the elected officials who took time out of their day today to see firsthand the progress in Nashville’s public high schools:
- State Representative Mike Turner
- Metro Councilman Phil Claiborne
- Metro Councilman Steve Glover
- Metro Councilman Darren Jernigan
- Metro Councilman Bill Pridemore
- Metro Councilman Josh Stites
- Metro Councilman Carter Todd
- Metro Councilman Charlie Tygard
- School Board member Mark North
- School Board member Anna Shepherd
The next VIP Tour is Wednesday, October 5, at Antioch High School. Additional tours will be scheduled later in the school year at Stratford, Whites Creek, Hillsboro and Glencliff. To see our photos of the McGavock tour, click here.
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Marc Hill - Policy

Education

US Community Credit Union Dr. Jesse Register Anna Shepherd Bill Pridemore Mark North McGavock High School Darren Jernigan Mike Turner high school reform Charlie Tygard Jay Steele Carter Todd Phil Claiborne Permanent General Josh Stites Gregg Morton Steve Glover CMT Gaylord Entertainment Robbin Wall Academies of Nashville
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
Career Exploration Fair a Hit with Metro’s 9th-grade students

November 08, 2010

Last Friday, all of Metro Schools’ first-time freshmen who are enrolled in the district’s 12 zoned high schools got a chance to explore their futures. More than 4,200 9th-graders cycled through the Nashville Convention Center, interacting with hundreds of professionals representing more than 100 different careers. The Academies of Nashville Partnership Councils, six industry-based committees composed of business leaders and educators, took the lead in recruiting the participating companies and volunteers.

It’s no accident that this second annual career exploration fair focused on 9th-grade students. We know the first year of high school is a critical year for making sure students start high school strong and graduate on time. Students met with professionals to learn about how much education they need after high school and what kind of classes they should take to prepare for a particular career.

These students also need to make an important choice this coming spring. At the end of this school year, they’ll enroll in an academy with a career or thematic focus for their sophomore through senior years. Their participation in the Academies of Nashville Career Exploration Fair is designed to help inform their choice.

In the middle of the day, the Chamber’s CEO Champions held their quarterly meeting and then presented a “Best in Show” award to the Health Partnership Council for the most engaging exhibit area for students. The CEO Champions also stepped up with monetary sponsorships to cover the costs that couldn’t be donated. In additions to the hundreds of companies volunteering their employees’ time and the support of the Nashville Convention Center, we couldn’t have had a successful fair without sponsors CMT, Trevecca Nazarene University, Middle Tennessee State University, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Shoney’s, and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Bill Rochford of Vanderbilt Medical Center accepts the “Best in Show” award from Mayor Dean and the Chamber’s CEO Champions on behalf of the Academies of Nashville Health Partnership Council. Click here to view more photos from this event.

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Marc Hill - Policy

Education

Trevecca Nazarene University Career Exploration Fair Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau MNPS Shoney’s Metro Schools CMT Middle Tennessee State University Academies of Nashville