I am pleased to announce that Teach For America Nashville-Chattanooga continues to be a top ranked Education Preparation Program by the Tennessee State Board of Education.

Our region is 1 of only 5 programs that scored two (2) “Exceeds Expectations” and one (1) “Meets Expectations” ratings across this year’s three scored performance categories. Once again, Teach For America Nashville- Chattanooga, Teach For America Memphis, and our region’s longtime partner Lipscomb University, all rank as the top 3 programs for high demand endorsement areas (hardest to staff subjects). This means our teachers are all serving in the highest needs classrooms across the state.

This report also affirms that Teach For America teachers are among the most racially and ethnically diverse in the state, and our teachers staff high need subject areas based on the needs of our communities and school partners. Additionally, Teach For America Nashville-Chattanooga retained 95% of teachers who return for a second year, which exceeds the state average. Our region has ranked as one of the overall top educator preparation programs for five consecutive years and Teach For America as an organization has consistently been identified as a source of effective teachers and a top performer in the state of Tennessee.

Data from the Teacher Educator Preparation report card is used to inform the region’s future programming and approach to developing excellent educators who support students in Tennessee. As we continue to navigate the challenges that our students and teachers face daily, I am

inspired by the dedication and resilience not only from our teachers, but from all of the educator preparation programs across the state who share a common goal of providing an excellent education for all students in Tennessee. I am elated to begin contributing to the progress that has been made thus far and I look forward to continuing this legacy of achievement as the new executive director of the Nashville-Chattanooga region.

Best,

Stephen Santellan

Executive Director | Teach For America Nashville-Chattanooga

About the Tennessee Educator Preparation Report Card

The Tennessee Educator Preparation Report Card, published yearly since 2007, presents data on the Tennessee State Board of Education’s key priority areas for preparing educators: recruiting strong, diverse candidates to teach in the areas of greatest need; employment and retention in Tennessee public schools; strong teaching performance; and effectively supporting students’ learning. In previous years, Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) received an overall rating based on their performance in the Report Card's scored domains. Due to the lack of teacher evaluation data from the 2020-21 school year stemming from the pandemic, EPPs are not receiving an overall rating this year. However, they did receive a rating in each of the scored domains with the exception of Provider Impact and Satisfaction. You can visit the Teacher Preparation Report Card website to access the full report.