2012 VAAA – Boones Creek Elementary School

First Place, East Division, Elementary Schools Teresa Leonard, Principal 348 Christian Church Rd. Gray, TN 37615 Washington County Schools Visit website Reporting on the Award: Johnson City Press Recipe For Success: The Recipe for Success at Boones Creek Elementary involves various aspects of the student academic program and learning environment. Boones Creek Elementary fosters the following practices in order to align the classroom curriculum: teachers prepare an individual Pupil Learning Plan (PLP) for every student in grades K-4 with … Read More

2012 VAAA – Stanford Elementary Montessori Design Center

First Place, Middle Division, Elementary Schools Melva Stricklin, Principal 2417 Maplecrest Drive Nashville, TN 37214 Davidson County Schools Visit website  Recipe For Success: Everyone is waiting to hear Stanford’s big secret; what do we do that makes us a high performing school.  Chefs will tell you that it’s not one secret ingredient, but the right combination of several common ingredients and the care that goes into the preparation, that make a good dish. Stanford’s recipe uses just the right combination … Read More

2012 VAAA – Dresden Elementary School

[custom_frame_left shadow=”on”][/custom_frame_left]First Place, West Division, Elementary Schools Mike Laughrey, Principal 759 Linden Street, #B Dresden, TN 38225 Weakley County Schools Visit website  Reporting on the Award: NWTN Recipe For Success: The main reason for our success at Dresden Elementary is the school wide culture that we have created. We are a medium size Pre-k – Fourth grade serving approximately 500 students in a rural area. We are a Title 1 school with 80% of our students on free or … Read More

The What & the Why of Tennessee’s Success

  Tennessee Schools Recognized for Fastest Gains Among the States – But Why? November 2013, the US Department of Education released the latest results from its National Assessment of Education Progress (i.e. “The Nation’s Report Card”) and revealed that Tennessee was the only state to post improvements in both math and reading at both fourth and eighth grades, adding a total of 22 points across the four assessments to their scores. This was, in fact, the largest gain among the … Read More

Motivating Students to Learn

posted in: Recommended Reading and Viewing |

Rewards help children learn but teachers are discouraged from using them. By Herbert J. Walberg & Joseph L. Bast To Reward or Not to Reward: Motivating Students to Learn The late Jere Brophy, a longtime Michigan State University professor of educational psychology, started the second edition of his 428-page tome titled Motivating Students to Learn with the following summaries of two opposing views about how best to motivate students: Learning is fun and exciting, at least when the … Read More

Other Recommended Reading

Selections that we’ve highlighted over the years. Is Teaching to the Test a Problem? It Depends… Richard Phelps, author of the classic Kill the Messenger:  The War on Standardized Testing, has written an article featured in the Autumn 2011 issue of the Wilson Quarterly. Among other things, he notes that “most of the problems with testing have one surprising source: cheating by school administrators and teachers.” Click here for more.   Test, Testing, and Genuine School Reform In this 2011 book, … Read More

Mike Laughrey: Recipe for Success

Dresden Elementary The main reason for our success at Dresden Elementary is the school wide culture that we have created. We are a medium size Pre-k – Fourth grade serving approximately 500 students in a rural area. We are a Title 1 school with 80% of our students on free or reduced lunch. This scenario presents many challenges. Our philosophy is “The best part of the day for the majority of our students is when they are at … Read More

Cherry Davidson: Recipe for Success

Donelson Elementary The recipe for success at Donelson Elementary is very simple: We have the right teachers in the right classrooms. As the principal of the school, I set the tone for the school and am responsible for ensuring that quality teachers are in place.  First, I have to hire the best teachers who meet the Donelson standards. “Donelson quality” teachers care about children, are strong with instruction, know how to disaggregate data, and use that data to … Read More

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