TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF EARLY LEARNING

5^TH FLOOR ANDREW JOHNSON TOWER

710 JAMES ROBERTSON PARKWAY

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37243-0376

 

 

VOLUNTARY PRE-K FOR TENNESSEE

FUNDING APPLICATION

 

This application contains the complete packet for submitting the Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee grant application. 

 

 

Note:  Application needs to be submitted electronically to the following email address:

Tenn.prek@state.tn.us

 

Deadline for electronic submission:   July 15, 2005

 

An original application and 3 copies must be delivered to this office by noon, July 18, 2005. (Use of overnight or express delivery is encouraged due to short turn around of reading the grants and announcing the recipients by August 1, 2005.

 

Mailing address:

 

Sandy Williamson

5^th floor AJ Tower

710 James Robertson Parkway

Nashville, TN 37243

 

 

 

TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

5^th floor Andrew Johnson Tower

710 JAMES ROBERTSON PARKWAY

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37243-0376

 

ON-LINE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PILOT APPLICATION

This document contains an application to become one of the 36 pilot sites for the ON-LINE FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (OFAP) for the 2006-07 school year.

 

WHO MAY APPLY:

Any school that contains grades three through eight (in any configuration), that meets the qualifications set out in the enclosed Technology Check, that wishes to pilot the on-line assessment program, and that has the support of its district administration as evidenced by a signed assurance page may apply.

                 

PILOT SCHOOL OBLIGATIONS:

All schools in the pilot program must participate fully in the professional development, implementation, and evaluation of the OFAP.

 

SELECTION PROCESS

Ø      Selection of schools for the pilot will be based on evaluation of the application by a team  identified by the Department of Education. 

 

Ø      Grants will be distributed equitably across the state.

 

Checklist for Submitting the OFAP Application

There are three components to the application process.  To be considered as a pilot site, applicant must: 

1. Submit the electronic notification of intent to apply via email to  debbie.w.hines@state.tn.us  Deadline: June, 10, 2005 (see Attachment A).

2. Submit the application via mail or in person.  Postmark and/or delivery deadline:  June 10, 2005.                                            Mail to:  TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Attn. Debbie Hines

5^th floor Andrew Johnson Tower

710 JAMES ROBERTSON PARKWAY

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37243-0376

3. The following pages should be submitted in the listed descending order:

 

            Title Page (Attachment B)

                       

            Assurances with Signatures of Principal and Director of Schools (Attachment C)

 

            Technology Checklist (Attachment D)

 

If you have difficulty with the application or entering the information on line, please contact Debbie Hines at the number below:

615-532-6210

 

See:  http://www.state.tn.us/education/ci/ofapapplication.doc

 

 

For immediate release: October 19, 2005

National Test Illustrates Tennessee’s Continued Progress

(NASHVILLE, Tenn.) - The Tennessee Department of Education today learned that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) shows improvement in Tennessee students’ performance over two years ago. Results show a consistent or greater percentage of students scoring at the “basic” level or above in all categories: fourth and eighth grade reading and math.

“There are a number of tools that we use to determine how our students are performing and how academic achievement may be further improved. In Tennessee, we primarily rely on state assessments, but NAEP is another resource available to us,” said Tennessee NAEP Coordinator Jan Lineberger. “We are especially pleased to see that our reading scores statistically match national averages. It indicates that we’re moving in the right direction.”

NAEP is administered to fewer than 11,000 of the 150,000 fourth and eighth graders across Tennessee to serve as a representative sampling for the rest of the state. It is given during late January to early February and results are released once every two years. While NAEP is not aligned to any state’s specific curriculum, it is based on general frameworks. State officials are currently reviewing those frameworks to incorporate more applicable lessons into Tennessee classrooms. For these reasons, NAEP is not comparable to state assessments, which are given in the late spring each year and are used to demonstrate compliance under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

“It’s important to remember the purpose of these assessments, which is improved student achievement,” adds Education Commissioner Lana Seivers. “While there is no magic formula, Tennessee is working toward this on many fronts, including Governor Bredesen’s efforts to provide pre-k for at-risk students and his investment of nearly half of a billion new dollars in K-12 education during his administration.”

To improve education across the state, the Department of Education has expanded its professional development initiatives in reading, math, English language learners, special education and children in poverty. In that spirit, nine regional Field Service Centers have been reestablished across the state to provide technical assistance. The department has also established an Urban Education Improvement Office and has hosted more than 1,100 educators in training, conferences and in-service to share resources and ideas on how to address the needs of students in urban areas.