Priority Schools Decision Timeline

Priority Schools Decision Timeline
Timeline to Date | Two-Part Timeline Going Forward

Working Document as of Nov. 6, 2014
Overview
In response to this years Priority Schools List, Dr. Jesse Register set an ambitious goal of having no
Priority Schools in the district in three years when the state releases the next list. Dr. Register has stated
that accomplishing this will require not only improving the 13 zoned schools on the current list, but all
schools performing in the bottom 25% district-wide so that as schools come off the list others dont take
their place.
In setting forth a plan to achieve this goal, Metro Schools has to balance two critical factors:
The sense of urgency to immediately improve academic achievement in low-performing schools,

which is in the best interest of the students being served in those schools.
A strong desire from parents, teachers and other community members to have a voice in the
decisions that will affect their schools.
In order to achieve both immediate improvements and community engagement, Metro Schools will
make decisions regarding priority schools on a timeline that is divided into two parts:
1. Near-term decisions and actions that will be made or taken between now and January 2015. The
near-term actions will be based on proven principles of successful school turnaround, which are
consistent with the turnaround principles outlined by the state to qualify for school
improvement grant funds. The near-term actions will also be heavily influenced by parent and
community feedback received through the meetings that took place at each Priority School. The
near-term actions largely center around:
Individualized Plans for School Turnaround: Developing a customized plan for academic
improvement at each Priority School, which will include allocating additional resources to
support learning and wrap-around services for students. The plans will include academic
benchmarks each school must meet in order to get off the Priority List in three years.
Human Capital: Ensuring each Priority School has a strong leader and effective teachers
Offering Equitable Choice in East Nashville: Conceptualizing a transportation plan to give
students in the Stratford and Maplewood clusters bus transportation to optional schools
Charter school conversions previously planned by MNPS and the states Achievement School
District to address chronically low-performing schools
2. Longer-term decisions that will be made only after a more extensive community engagement
process. These decisions include:
School closures, including repurposing or combining schools
Changing East Nashville feeder patterns, school themes, focus areas, or grade configurations
Detailed transportation plans to give students in the Stratford and Maplewood clusters bus
transportation to optional schools
Potential use of additional charter conversions to address schools that do not meet annual
academic improvement benchmarks
1
For Background Purposes: Timeline to Date

Date
Nov. 12,
2013
Action
MNPS Board adopts charter call for
proposals priority seeking
conversion operators for lowperforming schools (schools with
3-year Target status on 2014 APF)
MNPS Request for Proposals for
New Schools Issued
MNPS Board votes to approve KIPP
application for conversion of a
low-performing elementary school
(7-1)
Documents
MNPS Board Minutes 11-12-2013
Board Member Will Pinkstons Presentation
on Priorities 11-12-2013
Priority Schools List Released by

TN DOE
Dr. Register announces goal to
have no Priority Schools in three
years
Dr. Register releases open letter to
MNPS families clarifying concept
of developing an East Nashville
Plan
Dr. Register expands internal task
force charged with developing
school turnaround strategies
Oct. 14,
2014
Sept. 18
Nov. 5, 2014
Academic Performance Framework

Published and Released
MNPS Community Meetings with
Faculties and Families at Priority
Schools
Oct. 14,
2014
Creation of East Nashville

Community Advisory Committee
Oct. 14,
2014
Dr. Register presents update to the

Board of Education on
development of Priority Schools
plan and immediate additional
November
2013
June 24,
2014
Aug. 20,
2014
Sept. 9,
2014
Sept. 12,
2014
Sept. 26,
2014
2014 MNPS Request for Proposals
MNPS Board Minutes 6-24-2014

Video of Board of Education Meeting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alLRWU
7ovaE (at 1:10:13) (Support for more rapid
conversion 1:12:25) (Support for adjusting to
meet halfway in converting faster and moving
forward without further approval 1:15:40)
(Pinkston: Once the school is selected by you
and Dr. Register, does determination of the
selected school have to come back to the
Board for a vote? Answer: No, we will notify
the board of the decision 1:19:08)
TN DOE press release:
http://news.tn.gov/node/12841
MNPS web page:
http://www.mnps.org/Page120770.aspx
Letter:
http://onpubliceducation.com/2014/09/12/a
n-open-letter-to-nashville-families-from-drjesse-register/
MNPS blog:
http://onpubliceducation.com/2014/09/26/pr
iority-schools-task-force-update-fridayseptember-26-2014/
MNPS Board Agenda 10-14-2014
MNPS web page:
http://mnpschildrenfirst.com/2014/09/16/par
ent-meetings-dr-register-to-visit-and-speakwith-families-at-priority-schools/
MNPS press release:
http://onpubliceducation.com/2014/10/14/dr
-jesse-register-calls-on-east-nashville-to-helpbuild-a-plan-for-creating-more-high-qualityschool-choices/
Update Outline:
http://www.mnps.org/AssetFactory.aspx?did
=98418
Priority School Requests from Principals and
supports
Oct. 24,
2014
Dr. Register submits a written

report to the Board of Education
with an update on the Priority
Schools Turnaround Strategy
Leadership Teams:
=98420
DRAFT Turnaround Teacher Corps fact sheet:
=98419
Fact Sheet on All Choice Zone Concept:
http://onpubliceducation.com/2014/10/14/fa
ct-sheet-what-could-an-east-nashville-allchoice-zone-really-look-like/
MNPS Board Agenda for 10-28-14 (starts on
Page 34):
=98493
For Planning Purposes: Two-Part Timeline Going Forward

Part 1: Near-Term Actions
Timeframe
November
Early
December
2014
Action Item
Develop Community
Engagement Plan for LongerTerm Decisions, which are listed
below in Part 2 of the timeline
Nov. 12, 2014
Convene East Nashville

Community Advisory Committee
November or
Early
December
2014
Complete individualized
turnaround plans for each
Priority School
November or
Early
Setting and publishing 2014-15

achievement benchmarks for all
Additional Details
At a minimum, the engagement plan will include:
East Nashville Community Advisory
Committee
Development of an online portal to gather
community input
Additional community meetings as needed
(possibly charrette-style meetings for more
complex decisions, such as changes to feeder
patterns)
Poll survey(s)
Potential use of a professional community
engagement firm
A strategy to seek input from economically
disadvantaged families
The advisory committees charge and timeline
will be set out during the first meeting
One initial task will be to provide input on and
help finalize the community engagement plan
for the longer-term decisions that will impact
East Nashville
Plans will include:
Changes to support rigorous and engaging
curriculum
Professional development plans
Additional resources for academic supports
Additional resources for wrap-around services
Decisive action will be planned for fall of 2016
if benchmarks are not met, but action will
3
December
2014
Priority Schools
Target Date:
On or before
Dec. 1, 2014
Announce charter school

conversions for KIPP elementary
school (previously approved by
the MNPS Board of Education)
Early to MidDecember
TN Department of Educations
Achievement School District is
expected to announce the
middle school selected for
conversion into a LEAD charter
school
January 2015
Conceptualize an East Nashville

Equitable Choice Transportation
Plan to give students in the
4
take effect in fall of 2016

Turnaround resources and support (Extra
resources, iZone and SIG 4 Planning Grant
activities)
Conversion of an elementary school solicited
by the Board in fall of 2013 and approved KIPP
charter in June 2014; school must have 3-year
Target status under the districts Academic
Performance Framework (Note: There is some
overlap between the states Priority List and
the districts 3-year Target status, but the two
measure school performance differently and
therefore are not identical)
Eligible schools for conversion based on the
criteria approved by the Board last year
include Inglewood, Kirkpatrick, and Whitsitt
The selected operator (KIPP) is an East
Nashville operator, its application presumes
work in one of the East Nashville schools, and
selection of an East Nashville school is
consistent with the goal of creating stable and
predictable pathways for families
MNPS intends to conduct a poll survey of
schools being considered for conversion to
capture additional input from parents
attending the school as well as those zoned
for the school who are choosing other public
school options for their children
MNPS and KIPP will work with families at the
selected elementary school to explain their
options for the 2015-16 school year
Achievement School District conversion is
authorized by Tennessee Law for any school
identified as Priority
The ASD has indicated one middle school
conversion to be announced this fall, but the
decision to include more schools is within the
discretion of the ASD
MNPS will work with the ASD to coordinate
timing on their decision and announcement of
Priority School(s) they will convert beginning
in fall of 2015
A shortlist of potential schools for conversion
is expected to be announced in late
November, followed by parents meetings at
each prospective school before the final
announcement is made in early to midDecember
Students will still have a guaranteed seat at
their zoned school, if that is the school they
choose
Stratford and Maplewood

clusters bus transportation to
optional schools
Oct. 26, 2014

January
2015
Ensure all Priority Schools have

strong leaders and effective
teachers by executing on the
Turnaround Leaders and
Teachers campaigns to recruit
100 teachers and 10 school
leaders who are effective and
experienced in school
turnaround
The existing selection process will be used to

determine which students receive seats if
they choose a school in high demand
School zones will not be changed as part of
this plan with the exception of any approved
school closures
The Geographic Priority Zone (GPZ) for
Lockeland will not be changed; families in the
GPZ will still have first choice
Still to be decided is if the transportation plan
would serve all students in the two clusters to
any school of their choice or if select options
will need to be made available for feasibility
purposes
For additional details see:

Turnaround Corps website:
http://www.mnpsturnaroundcorps.org/
MNPS press release:
http://mnpschildrenfirst.com/2014/10/27/me
tro-schools-launches-campaign-to-recruit100-turnaround-teachers/
MNPS Board Agenda for 10-28-14 (Action
Plans on Pages 36-39):
=98493
Part 2: Longer-Term Decisions

These decisions will be made by May 2015 after a thorough community engagement process.
Consider potential closure, repurposing and/or consolidation of some Priority Schools
Consider possible co-location of schools to provide economies of scale to make additional student
supports more cost-effective
Consider stable feeder patterns and changes to school themes, focus areas, grade configurations, etc.
as part of the development of an East Nashville Plan aimed at addressing a concentration of Priority
Schools in the Stratford and Maplewood clusters, as well as all bottom 25% of schools in the district
Consider actions to be taken if Priority Schools miss their achievement benchmarks in 2014-15,
including potential use of additional charter conversions
Complete a detailed implementation strategy for an East Nashville Equitable Choice Transportation
Plan to give students in the Stratford and Maplewood clusters bus transportation to optional schools
Appoint turnaround principals for the 2015-16 school year (between Jan. 1 and May 1) and allow
principals at Priority Schools to select their teachers from the MNPS Turnaround Corps recruitment
campaign (by May 1)

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Priority Schools Decision Timeline

Timeline to Date | Two-Part Timeline Going Forward

The sense of urgency to immediately improve academic achievement in low-performing schools,

For Background Purposes: Timeline to Date

Priority Schools List Released by

Academic Performance Framework

Creation of East Nashville

Dr. Register presents update to the

2014 MNPS Request for Proposals

MNPS Board Minutes 6-24-2014

Dr. Register submits a written

For Planning Purposes: Two-Part Timeline Going Forward

Nov. 12, 2014

Convene East Nashville

Setting and publishing 2014-15

Announce charter school

Conceptualize an East Nashville

take effect in fall of 2016

Stratford and Maplewood

Oct. 26, 2014

Ensure all Priority Schools have

The existing selection process will be used to

For additional details see:

Part 2: Longer-Term Decisions

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