Four University of Tennessee MBA students consulted with the Chamber on issues of data collection and use by the Knox County School system. They found that current practices did not meet benchmarks, currently adopted by other school systems, that would help align achievement goals with individual student information.
For example, the students found that manual data entry of test scores administered by the state was not the preferable method of delivery; an electronic format would be more efficient and have no margin for human error.
In addition, they found that 17 data sources are used in the district to find and analyze student data. This impacts accessibility for teachers and administrators.
The UT students presented their findings to the Chamber and interested parties on April 3.
The students were Alicia Cottrell, Drew Davenport, Eric Edens, and Maxim Shabrov. As part of their MBA instruction, they spent 300 student hours on the project.
They compared Knox County standards to three benchmark institutions and one comparable district. They found Knox County Schools' practices lacking in many areas, including accessibility to data, relevancy of data to goals, connectivity between databases, and having a culture of data information systems and communication.
Read the UT students' final report about KCS data collection and use.
A recent study of the nation's 50 largest cities shows that there is typically a disparity in graduation rates between city school districts and the nearby suburban districts.
Two Tennessee cities, Nashville and Memphis, were included in this study. Nashville city schools were tied for the second highest graduation rate, 77 percent. Memphis ranked 14 with 61.7% of its students graduating.
These numbers compare with a 50-city average of 51.8 percent -- meaning almost half of students in these 50 school districts will not graduate high school.
The Tennessee cities also had a relatively small disproportion of disparity when compared with the national statistics. Memphis actually had the opposite disparity compared with the national average, meaning that the suburban graduation rate was less than the city graduation rate. That gap was 6.2 percent. Nashville suburban schools graduated 5.8 percent more students than its city schools.
The top disparities belong to Baltimore, Maryland and Columbus, Ohio. Both of these cities' schools had rates 40 percent below their suburban counterparts. The average for all 50 cities was a 17.4 percent disparity in favor of the suburban schools.
The Schooled for Success program is looking for employers in the Innovation Valley to host students for a two-day internship this summer.
Eighth grade students would spend two days with the employer on May 28 and 29, learning more about the host company and what skills it takes to succeed in the specific careers of each employer.
The goal of the program is to jump start incoming high school students with the knowledge of how to position themselves to get the job that they want.
Click here to learn more about the program and download an application to be a host employer.
Our Workforce and Education staff wants to know how you go about training your current employees and potential workforce. Do you have internships and apprenticeship programs? Do you help fund continuing education or offer mentoring opportunities?
Please fill out this form and return it to Ahnna Estes, Workforce Development Manager for the Knoxville Chamber. Delivery information is included on the form.
The Education and Workforce Summit will take place on March 24 at 8 a.m. in the Knoxville Convention Center.
Everyone in the community is welcome and encouraged to come -- parents, educators, students, business people, community leaders and faith-based institutions.
To register, click here.
The goals of the daylong summit are to outline what the region's future workforce looks like, to identify the barriers that may be standing in the way of achieving such a workforce, and for each attendee to leave with a plan of how he or she can individually contribute to the overall goal of developing a skilled and educated workforce.
Note: The following is from Arthur Stewart at ORAU, who shared the comments he received after the recent Science Bowl competition.
The Vols4STEM site identified the 2008 Tennessee Science Bowl as an event worthy of volunteer efforts.
Here are some comments from coaches who brought teams to the competition:
“Our students had a wonderful time and we look forward to participating next year, possibly even with two teams! Our hats off to you and the staff who worked to make this weekend a success." -- Analice H. Sowell, Memphis University School
"My students and I had a great time competing and experiencing the whole event. Thank you for all the time and effort that went into planning it and please pass my appreciation on to all the volunteers and sponsors. It was an amazing experience for the ten students I brought along from our school. Only three are seniors, so most are already looking forward to 2009." -- Laurette Carle, Independence High School
"Thanks for a great tournament this weekend. Although my team did not make it into the playoff rounds, my students enjoyed the experience and are already looking forward to next year's tournament." -- Joe Meko, Franklin Road Academy
“The kids are already planning for next year and have requested to be in more advanced science and math classes so they can be more competitive. My JV captain (rising sophomore) has signed up for 2 AP classes and he has challenged every member of his team to reach outside their comfort zone take at least one honors science or math class next year. You may have created a monster.” -- Bob Gant, Morristown Hamblen High School East
The competitions included 54 teams of students from 34 high schools across the state and involved more than 200 volunteers and 30 sponsors. The Tennessee Science Bowl clearly energizes and rewards the coaches and students, to Tennessee’s longer-term science-education benefit. The event cannot be made sustainable without sustained sponsor assistance.
Roane State Community College is holding its 2008 Job Fair for their AAS graduates at the Double Tree Hotel in Oak Ridge on Friday, April 18 from 1-5:00 p.m.
Local employers are invited to register to meet with the students from various education fields who may fill open positions.
These fields include business administration, accounting, business management, computer science, contemporary management, criminal justice, early childhood education, environmental health technology, general technology, geographic information systems, paralegal studies, and technical communications.
Note: This release was sent from the National Academy of Engineering, who is launching a new program to help with engineering workforce development efforts, especially for young women.
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), in conjunction with National Engineers Week, has launched a new Web site to encourage academically prepared girls to enroll in undergraduate engineering programs.
"This Web site is part of a national effort to inform high school girls, and those who counsel them, about engineering through personal and informative sketches about women's experiences as engineers," said NAE President Charles M. Vest.
At www.engineeryourlife.org, high school girls can "virtually" meet young women engineers and learn about their careers. Twelve women tell their inspiring stories on the Web site: about working with their communities; solving real problems; and, how they came to choose engineering as a profession. Eleven engineering fields are described at the site, with information on possible engineering projects, starting salaries, resources, and additional young engineers talking about their careers in their own words. A third section explains how to prepare for college engineering programs, with information on what high school classes to take, the experience of being an engineering student, and choosing an engineering program.
Engineer Your LifeTM is a production of WGBH Educational Foundation and NAE, in partnership with a coalition of more than 50 engineering and educational organizations, including ASME. For additional information, see nationalacademies.org.
In its continuing series of guest columns on education, this week's Knoxville News Sentinel featured Bob Hirche, president of ICMAS Inc.
Hirche's suggestions on education are two-fold: allocate monies to necessary programs such as reading programs for elementary schools, and look at how teachers are respected by students and as seen by the benefits given to those in the position.
Hirche mentioned that Ireland had a superior method of education in which teachers were paid more and were respected by the community and the students.
Hirche writes, "I would suggest that what we need to do to improve public education in Tennessee is already out there; we just need to have the will to adopt and execute."
The Public School Forum, an organization concerned with ensuring Tennessee's schools are implementing best practices in education, has launched a new website.
The site features three public service commercials, two of which include Tennessee Lady Vol women's basketball coach Pat Summitt. The announcements concern raising educational standards and equipping students with the right knowledge and equipment to succeed in their studies.
The commercials are currently airing on seven East Tennessee television stations, and can be re-viewed on the site. The site is supported by the Knoxville Chamber and the Great School Partnership.
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