Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Honors Veterans with Free Admission Memorial Day Weekend

To express appreciation for veterans and their families, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is offering them the opportunity to visit the museum free of charge during the Memorial Day weekend.

The Sports Hall of Fame is located inside Bridgestone Arena, 501 Broadway, in downtown Nashville. The museum will be open all weekend from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The normal admission price is $3 per person.

For more information, call (615) 242-4750 or visit www.tshf.net.

Open House

Washington Douglass

 Early Head Start

Open House 

Come one, Come all to our Open House on June 11, 2012 from 2:00-5:00.  You will be able to learn about the program, meet the teachers, and tour the school.  This event is open to the community. 

Refreshments and door prizes will be offered.

For more information concerning this event, please contact Karen Merriweather @ (731) 424-4842.                                 

Washington Douglass Early Head Start will be having an Open House, June 11, 2012, from 2:00 pm-5:00 pm.  This will be a community event and all are WELCOME to attend. 

For more information concerning this event, please contact Karen Merriweather @ (731) 424-4842.

Pinson Mounds

National Trail Day is Saturday, June 2. Come out to Pinson Mounds and help us with our trails! Last year we won best trail system in West Tennessee. Lets win it again this year!

Leadership Makes the Difference:

Recognizing 18 of Tennessee’s most effective principals

EMBARGO UNTIL May 14, 2012

Nashville, TN (May 14, 2012) – Education reformers have made teacher quality a top concern in

Tennessee and elsewhere – and rightly so. But without the support of a great principal, working

quietly behind the scenes to create the conditions for success, even the best teachers will inevitably

be limited in what they can accomplish in the classroom. The Education Consumers Foundation is,

therefore, proud to recognize the achievements of 18 of these principals from across the state

through its annual Value-Added Achievement Awards. The foundation will present these awards

during a ceremony held at 1pm at the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Winners are selected based on the most important school measurement available: Learning

gains across the entire student body, as measured by Tennessee’s Value-Added Assessment System

(TVAAS). TVAAS measures achievement gain in a way that permits schools to be compared

regardless of the makeup of the student body. Schools whose students make the greatest annual gains

in achievement earn the highest value-added scores.

“These 18 principals show what a dedicated principal and teaching force can achieve in

Tennessee schools,” noted ECF President Dr. J. E. Stone. “If every school performed at the level of

our 18 winners, Tennessee would lead the nation in educational improvement.”

According to Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman, “I am pleased to join with the

Education Consumers Foundation in recognizing some of our most effective principals and

schools,” Huffman said. “Value-added achievement is a central focus as we work to boost student

achievement across the state, and these education leaders are shining examples of what’s possible in

Tennessee.”

Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman will offer remarks about the vital work of the

principals and serve as co-presenter of the awards.

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1655 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 700 ● Arlington, VA 22209 ● Phone: 703-248-2611 ● Fax: 703-525-8841

Email: professor@education-consumers.org ● Web: www.education-consumers.org

How the winners were selected

In previous years, winners were selected on the basis of their three-year average TVAAS

scores in reading/language arts and math; this year, the Foundation changed its ranking model to

reflect a more comprehensive approach to student achievement. Rankings are now made using

schools’ letter grades for reading/language arts, math, science, and social studies; reading/language

arts and math scores are double-weighted to reflect the importance of these areas. A “grade point

average” is calculated, with a complementary measure – the new three-year average

Literacy/Numeracy Growth Index – used as a secondary factor.

In all, 18 winners were selected from among Tennessee’s nearly 1,300 public elementary and

middle schools. First, second and third place awards are given in two categories, Elementary and

Middle schools, in each of Tennessee’s three regions: East, Middle, and West.

Because the awards recognize high quality leadership, only schools where the principal has

served for at least five years were considered.

ECF also presents The Luna Award

Dr. Stone and Commissioner Huffman also presented The Luna Award, which recognizes a

principal who has demonstrated character, the ability to inspire, and an unwavering dedication to

students, staff, and the community they serve. This year’s award was presented to Sarah Wallace,

principal of the Ninth Grade Academy in Lincoln County.

Ms. Wallace was selected to launch the Ninth Grade Academy eleven years ago, and

continues to lead the school today. According to Wanda Shelton, Director of Schools in Lincoln

County, her dedication is unparalleled: The personal challenges she has faced, including the illness

and loss of her husband, have never affected her performance or her commitment to the school. “If

I were to return to the classroom I would want to be in Mrs. Sarah Wallace’s school,” said Shelton. “I

would want to work with someone who puts student learning first, who strives for excellence, who

loves her school and her job, and who wants engaged student learning happening in every classroom

every day.”

“The principals we honor today through both the Value-Added Achievement Awards and

the Luna Awards are the kinds of principals we want to see in every Tennessee school: dedicated

leaders willing to do whatever it takes to create the conditions for student success,” said Dr. Stone.

“We are also pleased to highlight the fact that several of our principals are repeat winners, showing

that such achievements can be sustained over time.”

Additional information about the winners, including school performance charts, is available

at www.education-consumers.org. Also posted there are “Recipes for Success” from each of the 18

principals and thoughts on what they have done as leaders to help their schools achieve.

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1655 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 700 ● Arlington, VA 22209 ● Phone: 703-248-2611 ● Fax: 703-525-8841

Email: professor@education-consumers.org ● Web: www.education-consumers.org

The winning principals each receive a certificate, a banner and a cash award: $3,000 for 1st

place, $2,000 for 2nd place, and $1,000 for 3rd place.

###

About Us: The Education Consumers Foundation is a nonprofit consumer organization.

It gathers and disseminates information about education policy and practice on behalf of parents,

taxpayers, and their elected representatives. Please visit us at www.education-consumers.org

Winners of the 2012 Value-Added Achievement Awards

Elementary Schools, East Tennessee

1st place:

Boones Creek Elementary

Washington County Schools

Teresa Leonard, Principal

2nd place:

Fairview Marguerite

Hamblen County Schools

Suzanne Wampler, Principal

3rd place:

John Sevier Elementary

Maryville Schools

Rick Wilson, Principal

Elementary Schools, Middle Tennessee

1st place:

Stanford Elementary Montessori Design Center

Davidson County Schools

Melva Stricklin, Principal

2nd place:

Hobgood Elementary

Murfreesboro Schools

Barbara Sales, Principal

3rd place:

The Discovery School

Dickson County Schools

Debbie Bogdan, Principal

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1655 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 700 ● Arlington, VA 22209 ● Phone: 703-248-2611 ● Fax: 703-525-8841

Email: professor@education-consumers.org ● Web: www.education-consumers.org

Elementary Schools, West Tennessee

1st place:

Dresden Elementary

Weakley County Schools

Mike Laughrey, Principal

2nd place:

Lincoln Magnet Elementary

Madison County Schools

Lynne Shuttleworth, Principal

3rd place:

Alton Elementary

Memphis City Schools

Barbara Beaver, Principal

K-8/Middle Schools, East Tennessee

1st place:

Normal Park Museum Magnet School

Hamilton County Schools

Jill Levine, Principal

2nd place:

Newport Grammar School

Newport Schools

Sandra Burchette, Principal

3rd place:

Little Milligan

Carter County Schools

J. R. Campbell, Principal

K-8/Middle Schools, Middle Tennessee

1st place:

Thurman Francis Elementary

Rutherford County Schools

Dr. Andra Helton, Principal

2nd place:

Bridgeforth Middle School

Giles County Schools

J. B. Smith III, Principal

3rd place:

Fairview Middle School

Williamson County Schools

Brian Bass, Principal

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1655 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 700 ● Arlington, VA 22209 ● Phone: 703-248-2611 ● Fax: 703-525-8841

Email: professor@education-consumers.org ● Web: www.education-consumers.org

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City Holiday Closing

The city of Jackson will observe the Memorial Day holiday, May 28, 2012.  City Hall will be closed.

Jackson TN – Mayor’s Office