Dive Brief:
- The Nashville Public Education Foundation has announced Project RESET, an initiative aimed at starting anew with expectations for, and the conversation around, the city's schools.
- A report commissioned by the foundation from Massachussetts data firm The Parthenon Group shows Nashville's schools failing to keep up with a local economy that is outpacing similar cities that are faring better in education.
- Despite gains that have been made in the city's education system under Metro Nashville Public Schools Director Jesse Register, he told the Tennesseean that they aren't enough.
Dive Insight:
The "RESET" in the initiative is an acronym for "Reimagining Education Starts with Everyone at the Table," highlighting its community-based approach. The foundation's report sets forth five recommendations for the city's schools: increased focus on high-quality Pre-K literacy programming, increased focus on college and career readiness, more autonomy allowing school leaders to make necessary changes, making hiring and keeping great teachers a priority, and creating initiatives that bring in additional community and national ed funding to Nashville.
Perhaps the most notable thing about Project RESET is the lack of gloom and doom presented by Register and NPEF President Shannon Hunt, who both note the positive results of the city's current approach when presenting the idea that more can be done to produce even greater results. Doing so is likely that much more encouraging for the city's education stakeholders, who are being kept in the loop that much more via the initiative's focus on community involvement.
