2011 Tennessee Teacher of the Year Finalists announced

Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Department of Education is proud to announce the finalists for the 2011 Tennessee Teacher of the Year Award. The nine finalists are comprised of elementary, middle and high school educators from each grand division of the state. Grand Division winners and Teacher of the Year will be chosen from this group this fall.

“I am very proud to have such outstanding teachers in this state,” Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said. “These teachers were instrumental in implementing the Tennessee Diploma Project this year and are examples of the kind of support we will need to successfully implement our Race to the Top efforts statewide. Teacher of the Year is about just one teacher, but I want to thank all of our teachers for the tremendous work in ensuring the success of every single Tennessee student.” [Read more]

Teach Tennessee Fellows begin summer training

A chemist, research scientist and physical therapist are among the group of over 25 individuals making a career change this summer to become a teacher through the Tennessee Department of Education’s Teach Tennessee program. Teach Tennessee is a statewide transitional licensure program created by Governor Phil Bredesen that addresses the need for classroom teachers by challenging mid-career professionals, retirees and others to teach.

Twenty-eight “Governor’s Fellows” from 20 Tennessee counties, Alabama and Florida will begin their training this week to earn certification to teach this fall.

“These types of focused, skilled, professional instructors are exactly what we need in the classroom as we move forward with implementation of the STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – initiatives of Race to the Top,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. [Read more]