MNPS board looks to lock in Battle through 2026

Hello and welcome to School Zone. This is education reporter Meghan Mangrum, sifting through TCAP results and trying to stay hydrated. Stay cool out there, Nashville!

Metro Nashville school board looks to lock Battle in through 2026

The Metro Nashville Board of Education is expected to vote to renew Director Adrienne Battle's contract during a school board meeting tonight.

Battle has officially been at the helm of the state's second-largest school district since March 2020, after already serving as interim director for nearly a year.

Her tenure has been marked by a devastating tornado, widespread school closures in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and tensions with the state over financial accountability, mask mandates and more.

The board, which has only officially evaluated Battle once in her more than two years leading the district, is expected to discuss her contract tonight. Board member Sharon Gentry drafted recommendations for Battle's updated contract.

Key changes in Battle's new proposed contract:

• Battle's current contract lasts through April 16, 2024. The contract renewal would keep her employed through June 13, 2026.

• Battle's $285,000 annual salary would not increase.

• However, under the new contract, she would be eligible for any cost-of-living increase granted to all MNPS employees at any time during the term of the contract.

• Battle would be granted three vacation days — up from two in her current contract — and two personal days.

Follow me for updates out of this evening's Metro Nashville school board meeting on Twitter @memangrum.

Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn on school safety

The state's top schools chief has remained relatively quiet on school safety since Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive order aimed at enhancing security last week, following pressure from some lawmakers after the recent massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

As some politicians call for arming teachers, Schwinn has not said whether she agrees with such a move. The commissioner has declined to take a position on the issue in the past, even when laws have been proposed in Tennessee that would allow teachers to carry guns in schools.

In an interview with The Tennessean last week, she did say she anticipated lawmakers might move to increase funding for school resource officers in the next legislative session.

The commissioner said she has heard from many districts that they would like more school resource officers, so she anticipates the state taking a look at the supply of officers and potential funding in the coming months.

"I am working very closely with districts to get a sense of what they want or need and if they want something a little bit different so that we can have something to talk with the administration and the General Assembly when they reconvene as it relates to states, policies and funding," Schwinn said.

Schwinn said the department anticipates looking at each district and community differently and she did note that "a lot of the policies surrounding school safety are not actually in the purview of education."

"Public schools are not positioned to be safety experts. They teach reading and math. They are there to ensure kids get an excellent education," Schwinn said. "So we really rely on the people who have expertise in public safety to advise us."

Find out how Metro Nashville Public Schools is working to keep students safe here.

Tennessee reading scores 'largely back to pre-pandemic levels'

The Tennessee Department of Education released state-level results for this year's TCAP testing this afternoon.

Data shows student achievement improved during the 2021-22 school year, after steep declines during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 36% of students tested (grades 3-12) tested on or above grade-level in English language arts this year, compared to 35% in 2019, but the percentage of students testing on grade-level in math has not completely recovered.

About 3 in 10 Tennessee students tested on or above grade-level in math this year, compared to 37% in 2019.

State education officials, along with Gov. Lee, praised the progress seen in this year's scores.

“These results mark encouraging strides for our students and also show the positive impact of early interventions to combat learning loss. I commend Tennessee teachers for their work to help students make academic gains, close achievement gaps and prepare students for life beyond the classroom," Lee said in a statement.

Keep reading for a comparison of scores overtime and what the education department and Schwinn attribute to the progress.

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Extra Credit

► Unless Congress renews a pandemic-era federal waiver before the end of the month, students at 31 Nashville schools could lose out on free school lunch next school year. It would cost the district more than $7 million to continue to fund the program. Find out which schools could be impacted and why here.

► Lisa Settle, superintendent of Tennessee's Achievement School District — the state's turnaround district for low-performing schools — is leaving the post this summer with no replacement immediately on the horizon. Commercial Appeal reporter Laura Testino has the story.

►The controversial Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center, at the heart of a $5.1 million class-action case settlement for past policies that led to the illegal arrests and incarcerations of thousands of children on minor charges, will soon gain a new oversight board. Reporter Scott Broden of The Daily News Journal has the full story.

► Hundreds of Nashvillians and others marched in cities across the state Saturday, calling for stricter gun laws and efforts to curb gun violence after a spate of recent mass shootings including the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The marches coincided with March for Our Lives' national march in Washington, D.C. as part of a nationwide day of action. Keep reading for more.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: MNPS board looks to lock in Adrienne Battle through 2026