Metro Nashville Public Schools is making progress, but it’s not enough. Our student performance outcomes are still too low. That was the underlying theme of a press conference held Dec. 4 to showcase the first year’s work of U.K.-based Tribal Group, an educational review and consulting company. To push the district’s transformation to the next level, MNPS will implement significant changes in 2013, all with student achievement as the focal point.

What we’ve learned during year one of our partnership with Tribal:

• Our students are not performing as they should be; one out of three elementary and middle school students perform math at grade level while two out of five read at grade level.


• Lessons are not engaging; only 22% of lessons observed were deemed effective.


• School leaders want more autonomy; four of five principals desire greater autonomy.

With that knowledge, Dr. Register says we must work aggressively to instigate change and to inspire greater success in our students.  Under his direction and in partnership with Tribal Group, the district will expand its use of network lead principals, create a strong network of sharing of best practices among 39 schools, and develop personalized learning plans for 27,000 students in under-performing schools. The district will also see a restructuring at the Central Office with decentralization of personnel, elimination of jobs, and the reconfiguration of reporting relationships.

To learn more about Tribal’s findings and what’s in store for 2013, check out the video below.

When it comes to innovation and reform in public education, Metro Nashville Public Schools is leading the charge through its new Office of Innovation.

Led by Executive Director Alan Coverstone, the mission of the Office of Innovation is to transform the lives of students through dynamic instruction in collaboration with communities to maximize future opportunity for all.  The overall goal of the Office of Innovation is to increase the number of college ready graduates by preparing students for college, career and life. 

Coverstone reports directly to the Director of Schools, Dr. Jesse Register, and is responsible for dramatic restructuring and rapid turnaround through a variety of tools. He was the prime architect of the Transformation Partnership School model establishing the first conversion charter school in Tennessee (Cameron College Prep), demonstrated a strong commitment to hold schools accountable even to the point of closure, and was referred to by the previous chair of the MNPS School Board as a “relentless champion of excellence in education.”

The Office of Innovation is comprised of three divisions:  Charter Schools, MSAP (Magnet Schools Assistance Program) Magnet Schools and Turn-Around Schools.

The MSAP Magnet Schools division is led by Amy P. Crownover, Anna Kucaj and Alison Vai.  The schools included in this office are Hattie Cotton STEM Elementary, Bailey STEM Magnet Middle, Stratford STEM Magnet High, Robert Churchwell Museum Magnet Elementary, John Early Museum Magnet Middle and Pearl-Cohn Entertainment Magnet High.  These schools illustrate the power of thematic focus to engage families, students and teachers through collaboration with community and by enhancing real-world experiences

The Charter Schools division is led by Carol Swann.  The charter schools for the 2011-2012 school year are Cameron College Prep, Drexel Prep, East End Prep, KIPP Academy, LEAD Prep Middle, LEAD Prep High, Liberty Collegiate Academy, Nashville Prep, New Vision Academy, Smithson Craighead Academy, Smithson Craighead Middle and STEM Preparatory.  Nashville Charter Schools capitalize on flexibility and school-level decision-making to help students gain access to college and career opportunities.

The Turn-Around School division is led by Dr. Lesley A. Isabel. The schools included in this division are Antioch Middle, Bailey Middle, Apollo Middle, Cameron Middle, Glencliff High, Jere Baxter Middle, Margret Allen Middle, Napier Elementary, Whites Creek High and Wright Middle.  These schools are being transformed through strong teaching teams and active student leadership in building school communities of excellence and pride.  They are also working closely with TribalGroup, a consulting firm helping the district build Inspirational Schools Partnerships that capitalize on the strengths of individual schools.

Coverstone says, “Each division will learn from what the others do best and we will develop a portfolio of schools that change lives.”