TDOE Announces the Accelerating TN 2022 Summer Bus Tour

Friday, May 20, 2022 | 01:30pm

 

Statewide 50-District Tour Highlighting Districts, Schools, & Educators
Accelerating Student Achievement & Outcomes

Nashville, TN- Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced the Accelerating TN 2022 Tour, a statewide tour spanning 50 school districts over the course of three weeks to highlight summer learning opportunities. Department members, elected officials, and education partners will have the chance to join the various engagements to learn more about how schools are accelerating student achievement.

Tennessee continues to lead the nation in supporting students, prioritizing education policies and initiatives to ensure our children are set up for success. 

During the General Assembly’s 2021 special legislative session on education, legislators passed the Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act, which set forward a path for all districts’ current and future summer programming opportunities to benefit students and accelerate achievement. This year, the General Assembly passed the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) Act, which updates the way the state funds public education for the first time in over 30 years and prioritizes the needs of each individual student. 

To highlight these important policies and programs to support students, Commissioner Penny Schwinn, department staff, state and local elected officials, and community partners are visiting 50 of Tennessee’s school districts this summer to connect directly with students, educators, and stakeholders. On June 6th, the bus tour will feature a special statewide celebration on the TISA public school funding formula and the new $1 billion recurring investment in K-12 public education.  

“Tennessee has led the nation in implementing innovative and student-focused strategies to accelerate student achievement and outcomes,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “The Accelerating TN 2022 bus tour will support the essential work continuing this summer—highlighting best practices, facilitating key discussions on strategic initiatives and the new TISA public school funding formula, and connecting the many stakeholders who want to help all Tennessee students succeed. By engaging, listening and learning during the tour, we can help ensure Tennessee continues to lead on behalf of our children." 

During the summer bus tour, planned highlights include visits to Summer Learning Camps and a Reading 360 Early Reading Training. Additionally, on numerous visits, the Commissioner and guests will partake in district leadership roundtables discussing strategic initiatives accelerating student achievement and the TISA public school funding formula as well as events highlighting state, regional or district work. 

The full schedule for the Accelerating TN 2022 Tour, visiting 50 districts, can be found here, which includes:

  • June 1-3: Northwest, Mid Cumberland and South Central CORE Regions
    • June 1: Dyer County Schools, Dyersburg City Schools, Alamo City Schools, Haywood County Schools, Gibson County Special School District, Trenton Special School District
    • June 2: Tennessee School for the Blind, Manchester City Schools, Tullahoma City Schools, Bedford County Schools
    • June 3: Houston County Schools, Paris Special School District, Hollow Rock-Bruceton Special School District, Henderson County Schools, Humphreys County Schools
  • June 6-10: Upper Cumberland, Southeast, East, and First CORE Regions
    • June 6: Grundy County Schools, Marion County Schools, Hamilton County Schools
    • June 7: Athens City Schools, Loudon County Schools, Lenoir City Schools, Jefferson County Schools, Knox County Schools
    • June 8: Tennessee School for the Deaf, Oak Ridge City Schools, Anderson County Schools, Sevier County Schools
    • June 9: Greene County Schools, Greeneville City Schools, Washington County Schools, Carter County Schools, Elizabethton City Schools
    • June 10: Fentress County Schools, Alvin C. York Institute, Putnam County Schools, DeKalb County Schools, Jackson County Schools
  • June 13-15: Southwest, South Central, and Mid Cumberland CORE Regions  
    • June 13: Achievement School District, Arlington Community Schools, Lakeland School System, Collierville Schools, Bartlett City Schools
    • June 14: West Tennessee School for the Deaf, Jackson-Madison County Schools, Lexington City Schools, Hardin County Schools
    • June 15: Robertson County Schools, Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools, Dickson County Schools, Cheatham County Schools

*Any future changes in the above schedule will be indicated in weekly media advisories shared during the bus tour duration. 

Throughout the 2021 summer bus tour, directors of schools reflected on how impactful summer programming was for their districts and students and shared their excitement for this year.

“We are so excited to implement year two of our summer learning camps in Cheatham County,” said Dr. Cathy Beck, Director of Schools, Cheatham County Schools. “Students are meaningfully engaged in daily hands-on learning activities and purposeful academic lessons designed by our dedicated educators. All students are able to participate in multiple STREAM activities, which encourages them to create innovative projects and develop critical thinking skills. We are honored to host the department along their summer bus tour. We continue to be grateful for all the educators, community, and staff whose hard work has made the implementation of our summer learning camps possible.”

“It was exciting to have the Commissioner and those on the tour visit us last year and have the ability to interact with our students," said Dr. David Martin, Director of Schools, Tennessee School for the Blind. "We are looking forward to her stopping in this year and having the opportunity to share information about all of the student focused initiatives we have in place and how we are exemplifying our Best for All District status.”

“Our summer learning camps across the district are focused on an opportunity to learn and we are looking forward to our second year of the camps in Haywood County Schools,” said Joey Hassell, Director of Schools, Haywood County Schools.  “Based on last year, we saw a positive impact on our students’ performance.”

As a part of this statewide tour, legislators, state board members, partners, and members of the media will be invited to ride on the bus or attend an event and join the department in celebrating and supporting our students this summer.

Follow the stops along the bus tour on social media at #AcceleratingTN2022. If you see the bus, take a photo or video, post to social media and tag the department, and include #AcceleratingTN2022. 

For Tennessee Department of Education media inquiries, contact Edu.MediaInquiries@tn.gov.  

###