TENNESSEE MAIN STREETS HOST SUMMER ACTIVITIES

Historic Downtowns Spotlight Special Events, Music & Farmers’ Markets

Nashville, Tennessee - The summer season in Tennessee is right around the corner, and it’s the perfect time to take in the sights and sounds of our beautiful Main Street Communities. Tennessee Main Street Programs are once again hosting multiple events and farmers’ markets over the next several months that will highlight the unique offerings of each community across the state while supporting historic downtown business districts.

“Tennessee’s historic downtown districts are an important part of our state’s unique identity and character,” Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty said. “Creating and nurturing vibrant downtown commercial districts not only promotes tourism and job growth, but it also signals our state’s overall economic strength, helping us win new investments.”

“Main Streets provide all kinds of fun for the summer,” Tennessee Main Street Director Nancy Williams said. “From outdoor concerts to festivals and farmers’ markets, you can find an event any week of the summer on a Tennessee Main Street. In addition to connecting with your own community’s happenings, summer events provide opportunities to explore Main Streets across Tennessee.”

A complete listing of Main Street summer events can be found at: http://tn.gov/ecd/pdf/Other/MainStreetEvents.pdf

Tennessee Main Street provides technical assistance and guidance for communities in developing common sense solutions to make downtowns safe, appealing, vibrant places where folks want to shop, live and make memories.

In 2013, certified Main Street communities generated more than $59 million of public/private investment and created 646 new jobs.

There are currently 26 designated Main Street program communities across Tennessee: Bristol, Cleveland, Collierville, Columbia, Cookeville, Dandridge, Dayton, Dyersburg, Fayetteville, Franklin, Gallatin, Greeneville, Jackson, Jonesborough, Kingsport, Lawrenceburg, Lebanon, McMinnville, Morristown, Murfreesboro, Ripley, Rogersville, Savannah, Sweetwater, Tiptonville and Union City.

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

Tennessee was named “2013 State of the Year” for economic development by Business Facilities magazine. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development’s mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web:tn.gov/ecd. Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd.  Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.

NES Offers Free Tools to Lower Bills

Nashville, Tennessee - Prepare now to keep hot summer air outside where it belongs. Nashville Electric Service (NES) is offering a free Neighborhood Energy Savers workshop this weekend to demonstrate easy, do-it-yourself improvements anyone can do at home.

WHEN: Saturday, May 3 from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

WHERE: Looby Community Center, 2301 Metro Center Blvd., Nashville, TN 37228

NES will show how to seal air leaks using simple tools such as caulk, weather-stripping and spray foam. Participants receive a free energy-saving tool kit, valued at $25, and an energy action plan in order to implement changes right away.

For a complete list of Neighborhood Energy Savers workshops, visit nespower.com.

ABOUT NASHVILLE ELECTRIC SERVICE

Nashville Electric Service is one of the 12 largest public electric utilities in the nation, distributing energy to more than 360,000 customers in Middle Tennessee. For more information about NES, visit nespower.com.

New Leadership for Department of English Learners

Executive director Kevin Stacy brings years of international and language experience

Nashville, Tennessee - Metro Schools has hired a veteran and internationally minded educator as Executive Director of the Department for English Learners (EL). Kevin Stacy will lead the support for students and families who do not speak English as a first language. He will oversee work in the International Student Registration Center, English Language Development Curriculum and Instruction, and Translation Services.

Stacy’s career in language education began humbly: he worked in a home with a group of Nashville’s earliest Kurdish refugees in the early 1990s to teach them English. This experience ignited a lifelong passion for education and working with the international community that led him to teach in Cheatham County Schools and Williamson County Schools, as well as at Welch College and schools in China and Uzbekistan. These experiences gave him an in-depth awareness of cross-cultural relationships, and provided a richer understanding of linguistics through his personal language learning experience.

Stacy has been with Metro Schools since 2010, starting as a district coordinator of English Language Development (ELD). He was later promoted to the director position of ELD Curriculum. Since November 2013, he has served as the department’s interim executive director.

He graduated from Welch College with a bachelor’s degree and earned a master’s in teaching English and intercultural studies from Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. Stacy later earned a master’s in educational leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University.

His long-term relationships with the international community, cross-cultural experiences, expertise in ELD Curriculum, knowledge of the MNPS programs, and years of providing services for English Language learners will support the department in learning from the past and being prepared for the future.  Stacy’s vision is to inspire and support students, families, teachers and the Nashville community to be innovative in working together to emerge as a national model in the achievement and success of English Learners.

Metro Nashville Public Schools

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools is the nation’s 42nd largest district, preparing more than 83,000 students to excel in higher education, work and life. With the goal of being the first choice for Nashville’s families, Metro Schools is committed to providing a high quality education to every student. The district is earning a national reputation for urban school reform, its commitment to social and emotional learning and rising academic achievement, and currently ranks in the top 27 percent of districts in the state for academic performance. Its new strategic plan, Education 2018: Excellence for Every Student, sets the goal of becoming the nation’s top performing urban school system by 2018. The governing body for Metro Schools is the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education, a nine-member elected body. For more information, visit www.mnps.org.

Cambridge Advanced Academics Expand to Hermitage Elementary

McGavock Cluster has Tennessee’s first K-12 Cambridge Continuum

Nashville, Tennessee - Increasing the rigorous academic offerings in the McGavock cluster, Metro Schools is proud to announce the expansion of the Cambridge program into Hermitage Elementary School, completing Tennessee’s first K-12 Cambridge continuum.

The Cambridge International Examinations program is affiliated with the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, and offers courses comparable in rigor to British A levels and the International Baccalaureate Programme. It is already in place at McGavock High School and its feeder school Donelson Middle Prep. By expanding into the elementary feeder school, students of all grades in the Donelson area can experience an internationally developed curriculum that fosters enquiry, problem solving and next-level thinking.

“By starting Cambridge Primary in kindergarten here at Hermitage, students can move from year to year and school to school with consistently challenging course work that better prepares them for what’s next,” said Hermitage principal Kellee Akers. “We’re thrilled to give our current students this opportunity and to provide families a school choice option that offers a proven, rigorous, international curriculum. We know the Cambridge International program will make Hermitage Elementary and the McGavock cluster even stronger in the future.”

Cambridge Primary, as the elementary arm of the program is known, develops English, mathematics, science

Chattanooga Public Library Exec Dir participates in invitational summit at Library of Congress‏

Chattanooga Public Library’s executive director, Corinne Hill, has been invited to participate in the American Library Association’s invitational Summit, Libraries From Now On :  Imagining the Future, May 2 & 3 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The Summit will bring together thought leaders from the library community, from a broad spectrum of educational organizations, federal agencies and foundations that work with libraries to begin a national conversation about the future and libraries. the Summit and joins fewer than 80 participants in this invited discussion.

Metro Nashville scores “phenomenal” results on teacher survey

2014 TELL MNPS survey shows growth in all categories; research links satisfied teachers to increased student performance

Nashville, Tennessee - Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools teachers report increased community support, high professional standards and a curriculum aligned with Common Core State Standards according to the recent TELL MNPS survey of district teachers.

Survey results improved year over year across the board, with more respondents agreeing, “Overall, my school is a good place to work and learn,” 83.7% agree this year up from 79.0% last year.

“We want to be the best place to work so we can recruit and retain great teachers,” said Director of Schools Dr. Jesse Register. “The TELL survey is such a valuable tool because it tells us what we need to do and where we need to focus to reach that goal. This year’s results confirm that we are making great progress."

Among the survey’s highest-rated queries:

•         Teachers are held to high professional standards for delivering instruction (94.5% of respondents agree in 2014 vs. 92.9% last year)

•         The school leadership facilitates using data to improve student learning (95.6% vs. 94.9%)

•         Teachers in this school use assessment data to inform their instruction (95.8% vs. 94.2%)

•         The curriculum taught in this school is aligned with Common Core Standards—up 3 percentage points

Hume-Fogg and MLK are the Best High Schools in the State

Three Metro schools earn medals from “U.S. News and World Report”

Nashville, Tennessee - Fresh off the announcement that they were the two most academically challenging high schools in Tennessee, Hume-Fogg Magnet High School and Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High School (MLK) have yet another national ranking to be proud of.

In its annual ranking of America’s best high schools, “U.S. News and World Report” has named Hume-Fogg as number one in the state with MLK close behind at number two. Both schools also earned gold medals from the magazine. If this sounds familiar, it’s because both schools topped last year’s list, as well as a similar list from “Newsweek” last May.

New to the list this year is MNPS Middle College High School, which is unranked but given the title of “Recognized Nationally” and a bronze medal. 

“It’s not surprising that the most challenging schools in Tennessee, Hume-Fogg and MLK, would also be named the best,” said Director of Schools Dr. Jesse Register. “We’re particularly pleased to see Middle College honored, as the students and faculty there work very hard in a real college environment. It’s not unusual for students there to graduate with associate’s degrees and high school diplomas at the same time,

Nashville Singers Celebrate with “Spring Spectacular” Choral and Orchestra Concert in Smyrna

Concerts Promote Music Education in Middle Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee - The Nashville Singers organization is presenting its inaugural “Spring Spectacular” choral and orchestra concert on Friday, May 9 in Smyrna.  Joining the men’s a cappella ensemble is TuneTown Show Chorus and the Music City Youth Orchestra for the 7:30 pm show at Life Point Church, 506 Legacy Drive in Smyrna.

The chorus has presented numerous concerts and other performance engagements, but this is the first time for the volunteer organization to hold a spring concert in addition to their holiday concert series.

Executive Director Todd Wilson responded, “When you bring a collection of musical talent like this together, you just know it’s going to be a special experience for the performers and the audience.”

Nashville Singers is a nonprofit performing arts organization founded in November of 2008 by a handful of men committed to excellence in vocal and choral performance. They are celebrating their sixth anniversary this year. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students and can be purchased online by visiting www.nashvillesingers.org.

The group’s mission is to enrich lives through singing and the support of music education. This support comes

Metro High Schools are the Most Challenging in Tennessee

Three schools land on national and statewide rankings from The Washington Post
Nashville, Tennessee - Metro high school students get a rigorous academic experience with the opportunity for advanced classes in every school. The challenge these courses give sets students up for success in college courses and has now also earned them a new national distinction.

Writers at the Washington Post have named Hume-Fogg, Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) and Hillsboro High Schools among “America’s Most Challenging High Schools.” Schools are ranked nationally, regionally and by state, with all three schools scoring in all three categories.

Hume-Fogg and MLK are ranked as the number one and number two most challenging schools in Tennessee, respectively, and Hillsboro comes in at number eight. With three schools on the statewide list, Metro Schools is the most represented district in the top 10.

School	Tennessee Rank	Southern Rank	National Rank
Hume-Fogg Magnet High School	1	40	59
Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet High School	2	60	109
Hillsboro High School	8	423	845

The list was created according to the ratio of students to exams given in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE). Hume-Fogg and MLK both have high levels of AP participation; last year 604 Hume-Fogg students took 1,433 exams, while at MLK 434 students took 912 exams. Hillsboro offers both AP and IB, with 176 students taking 187 AP exams in 2013 and another 29 students earning full IB diplomas.

All Metro zoned high schools offer advanced academic courses. Hunters Lane was Tennessee’s first IB school, and Antioch High is an IB candidate school, meaning it will offer IB in the near future. Overton, Cane Ridge, Whites Creek and McGavock all offer the AICE program from Cambridge University.

Metro Nashville Public Schools

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools is the nation’s 42^nd largest district, preparing more than 83,000 students to excel in higher education, work and life. With the goal of being the first choice for Nashville’s families, Metro Schools is committed to providing a high quality education to every student. The district is earning a national reputation for urban school reform, its commitment to social and emotional learning and rising academic achievement, and currently ranks in the top 27 percent of districts in the state for academic performance. Its new strategic plan,Education 2018: Excellence for Every Student, sets the goal of becoming the nation’s top performing urban school system by 2018. The governing body for Metro Schools is the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education, a nine-member elected body. For more information, visit www.mnps.org. 

Tennessee Aquarium Earns Praise During AZA Accreditation Achievements in Conservation, Education and Exhibits Noted

Above: Photo of the Tennessee Aquarium and Chattanooga Riverfront by Todd Stailey / Tennessee Aquarium.

Chattanooga, Tennessee  – The Tennessee Aquarium was granted accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) during the Association’s Mid-Year conference in Memphis.


“The Association of Zoos and Aquariums accredits only those zoos and aquariums that meet the highest standards,” said AZA President and CEO Jim Maddy. “As a proven leader in the care and conservation of wildlife and education outreach, the Tennessee Aquarium is ranked among the best zoos and aquariums in the world.”


To be accredited, the Tennessee Aquarium underwent a thorough review to ensure it has and will continue to meet ever-rising standards, which include animal care, veterinary programs, conservation, education and safety.  “Our goal is to always exceed AZA standards,” said Jackson Andrews, the Aquarium’s director of husbandry and operations. “Our experienced staff is committed to thinking strategically about the Aquarium’s educational programs, conservation work and providing a world-class guest experience.”


The accreditation process includes a detailed application and a meticulous on-site inspection by a team of trained zoo and aquarium professionals. The inspecting team observes all aspects of the institution’s operation, including animal care; keeper training; safety for visitors, staff and animals; educational programs; conservation efforts; veterinary programs; financial stability; risk management; visitor services; and other areas. Finally, top officials are interviewed at a formal hearing of AZA’s independent Accreditation Commission.


Following the Aquarium’s review, the AZA inspection team found no major concerns and noted particular achievements in the following areas:


- The exhibits are very interesting to view and extremely well-maintained. The diversity of exhibit themes from numerous freshwater displays, to ocean reef environments, to specialized exhibits that feature turtles, jellyfish and seahorses provide a rich experience for all Aquarium visitors.
- The Tennessee Aquarium has one of the finest (if not THE finest) collections of freshwater aquatic animals in the world.
- The Aquarium has fostered excellent partnerships with a number of government and non-governmental agencies that have resulted in extremely effective Lake Sturgeon, Southern Appalachian Brook Trout and Barrens Topminnow rearing and release programs.
- Staff is extremely friendly, energetic, engaged and enthusiastic.
- Staff and volunteers receive training about the Aquarium’s animals which makes them more engaged and better ambassadors for Aquarium guests.
- The Aquarium buildings and infrastructure are very well maintained and in excellent condition, especially given their size and complexity.


Andrews considers the AZA accreditation process as the gold standard for zoos and aquariums and was particularly pleased with the inspection team’s remarks about the Tennessee Aquarium’s staff and volunteers. “Everyone works hard to present the wonders of the aquatic world to our guests in an engaging and special way. We all get pleasure out of immersing visitors in the experience and seeing their surprise and excitement while they are here spending time with their families.”