TDOE Announces New State Turnaround Superintendent

New School Turnaround Leader to Support School Improvement Efforts

Nashville, TN— Today, the Tennessee Department of Education announced Dr. Bren Elliott will be the new State Turnaround Superintendent and will oversee and support the statewide Achievement School District (ASD), in addition to serving certain priority schools who are identified as the most in need of support and improvement.  

With almost 30 years of experience in the education profession, Dr. Elliott most recently served as Chief of School Improvement and Supports within DC Public Schools, overseeing comprehensive school improvement, school culture and climate, school-based leader and staff evaluations, as well as student services initiatives for the district’s 116 schools and ~50,000 students. Prior to this role, she spent eight years leading student supports services initiatives in two large North Carolina school districts resulting in the redesign of alternative schools and the district-wide implementation of multi-tiered system of supports. Additionally, she spent the first 15 years of her educational career in Metro Nashville Public Schools serving as a teacher, middle and high school principal and leading district-wide efforts to improve the district’s lowest performing schools.

Dr. Elliott’s educational credentials include B.S. in Chemistry as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Tennessee State University, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from High Point University. She is also a graduate of the AASA Howard University Urban Superintendents Academy and the ALAS Women Superintendent’s Policy Leadership Academy. She is a proud veteran of the U.S. Army, earning the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves and multiple honors for exemplary service.  

“I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Bren Elliott to lead the state’s turnaround efforts, including as Superintendent of the Achievement School District,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education. “Her experience in school turnaround will be an asset to the state and provide intentional support to these schools to ensure all students receive a high-quality education.”

“I am excited to join the department and return to Tennessee as the State Turnaround Superintendent,” said Dr. Bren Elliott, State Turnaround Superintendent, Tennessee Department of Education. “As the new leader of the state’s turnaround efforts, I look forward to working with our schools most in need of support and intervention, including the Achievement School District, to improve student achievement and help all students in these schools succeed.” 

On Tuesday, September 5th, Dr. Elliott will join the department and will oversee the full continuum of school turnaround efforts for the state of Tennessee to move schools out of the bottom 5% of student achievement, including managing supports, interventions, monitoring, and funding for Targeted Support and Improvements (TSI), Additional Targeted Support and Improvements (ATSI), and Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools and districts, otherwise known as Priority schools in Tennessee, which includes the 14 schools in the Achievement School District.

Learn more about the Achievement School District here. For media inquiries about the department contact Edu.MediaInquiries@tn.gov.   

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