The Metro Nashville Public School director's review edition
Hello and welcome to School Zone. This is education reporter Meghan Mangrum.
I'm home this week after testing positive for COVID-19. Though coronavirus isn't top of mind for everyone these days, infections are still on the rise, Tennessean health care reporter Frank Gluck reports. Stay well, folks.
Now onto the news.
Metro Nashville school board renews Director Adrienne Battle's contract
Last week, the Metro Nashville school board voted to renew Director Adrienne Battle's $285,000 contract though 2026.
The vote was almost unanimous, with one board member, Fran Bush, abstaining. But several board members raised concerns about the rush to renew Battle's contract, which didn't expire until June 2024.
Abigail Tylor, Rachael Anne Elrod and Bush raised concerns about renewing the contract before the results of this year's state assessments are made public and before conducting the director's annual review.
Bush took aim directly at board member Sharon Gentry, who presented the motion to renew Battle's contract and was in charge of last year's review.
Often a lone critic on the board, Bush said the evaluation – which was presented to the board in February – "was not a director's review," calling it "a flop" and "crap."
She said it focused too much on other departments and didn't follow the strategy of years past. Coupled with criticism over Battle's decision to keep schools closed during the coronavirus pandemic and struggling student achievement, Bush said she would abstain from voting.
Board member Gini Pupo-Walker, a longtime Battle supporter, countered Bush during last Tuesday's debate.
Pupo-Walker said the board should never renew a director's contract out of fear of losing them, but she suspected if the board did not renew it, Battle would be getting calls "tomorrow."
Eventually, even the board members who raised concerns about the optics and the timing of the review voted in favor of the new contract.
The director's review process
Much has been made about the director's most recent evaluation.
The basic features of the review require it to allow the director to assess their own performance, to be reported to the board for approval and for the goals and objectives of each department to become the goals for next year's review, per board policy.
Board members and Battle herself completed the review through an online platform and rated specific initiatives and/or goals on their progress.
Though the Metro Nashville school board was previously recognized for the strength of its review process, the procedure has been scaled down and Bush argues it isn't substantial.
Completed in 2021, the most recent review was presented to the board during a retreat on Feb. 4. Gentry compiled individual comments and average scores into a final presentation.
Eight of the nine board members completed the review – everyone but Bush.
2021 review findings
The most recent review evaluated Battle for each of the district's "signature initiatives," or programs and goals, laying out expected results and board member comments.
Progress on each initiative was noted as red, yellow or green (like a traffic light) and whether the goal was achieved, mostly achieved or not achieved.
Here are the findings:
Promising Scholars Summer Program — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “Board is pleased with the establishment and implementation of this initiative.”
Central Office as a Support Hub — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “Board agrees with the self assessment of this initiative. Cited great feedback on the shift in culture and mindset that is taking place among staff.”
Koaching with Khan math initiative — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “Board does not view this as ‘achieved’ based on the data provided and the unavailability of the satisfaction survey results.”
Literacy ReImagined initiative — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “Board had mixed reviews on this initiative. Where praise was given on the establishment of the initiatives; given the challenges of the pandemic, there is uncertainty as to the efficacy of the efforts around Literacy ReImagined.
Equity Roadmap — Progress: yellow — Self rating: partially achieved. Board comments: “Board had mixed reviews on this initiative, said ‘big questions remain.’”
School Navigators program — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “Overall, the board was pleased with the implementation and impact of this initiative, acknowledging the huge extra burden it put on teachers and administrators.”
High-Dosage Tutoring program rollout — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “The Board was pleased with the implementation of this initiative, citing that it is a “gold standard” in improving outcomes for students. The Board is looking forward to this initiative expanding its reach and more students benefiting; as well as seeing quantitative and qualitative data that speaks to the efficacy of this initiative.”
Innovative Public Health Response — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “The Board acknowledges the response necessary to get our students back into the classroom. However there are mixed responses on whether the strategies employed were the most effective and efficient”
Virtual Online Help Centers — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: Board agrees.
Rollout of Personalized Student Dashboard — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “The Board is overall pleased with this initiative; wants to understand the number of students and parents that are access the dashboard.”
Leadership Framework — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “The Board is overall pleased with this initiative.”
Fifth grade return to elementary school (ReimaginED) — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “The Board is overall pleased with this initiative. Cited again the positive response from parents. Pleased with the thoughtful, strategic implementation strategy.”
Results-Focused Innovation (Vanderbilt research partnership) — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: “The Board acknowledges that this evaluation period focused mostly on processes and is looking to see more evidence related to student outcomes.”
New website — Progress: green — Self rating: achieved. Board comments: Board agrees, no additional comments.
Keep reading to find out more about what's written into Battle's new four-year contract.
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Extra credit
► The Tennessee State Board of Education is collecting public feedback on the state's existing social studies standards for grades K-12. The effort is the first in a yearlong process of reviewing the existing academic standards for potential revision, which launched Monday. Keep reading to find out more about the process. Submit your feedback online via the state board's website.
► Amid this weekend's Juneteenth celebrations, many children are probably asking probing questions about slavery. "What does it mean to be freed?" or "Were people really that mean?" children might ask. USA Today Network reporter Tiffany Cusaac-Smith dives into how parents are talking to their children about Juneteenth and teaching them about tough topics like slavery.
► Wishing a belated happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Whether you are a biological dad, a stepdad, an adopted dad, a granddad or a dog dad, check out this story from The Tennessean's Brad Schmitt about a foster dad who suddenly found himself with five kids — and through them found his calling.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Metro Nashville Public School director's review edition
