A smile ends teacher’s struggle with ‘that student’
'It was my job to provide intervention for X-Man, 45 minutes every day. What a way to kick off my morning, huh?'
Caroline Bauman
Chalkbeat Tennessee
Caroline Bauman serves as Chalkbeat Tennessee’s community editor and writes about Tennessee schools. Bauman has a masters degree from the University of Missouri as a Thurgood Marshall Fellow. When she’s not working, you can almost certainly find her enjoying BBQ nachos at Central or live music at the Levitt Shell.
There are 57 articles by Caroline Bauman :
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February 2020
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Education
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January 2020
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Education All 30 schools in Tennessee turnaround district would exit by 2022 under plan
According to a copy of the proposal obtained by Chalkbeat, the transition is part of a massive reset for the embattled turnaround model known as the Achievement School District, which has fallen woefully short of its goal to improve student performance since launching in 2012.
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Education State leader backs Southwest Early College High closure
At stake is the education of 133 students who could need to find a new high school after May.
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December 2019
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Education State-run district adds to list of Memphis school buildings with high lead levels
Three Memphis schools joined a list of buildings with water sources that contain unsafe lead levels. Many schools in the district have yet to be tested.
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Education First group of Memphis parents hears how vouchers work
The goal of the meeting at a private Christian school in southeast Memphis was to tell families that starting next year, they could be eligible for up to $7,300 in education voucher money to send their children to a private school or to use for other private services.
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November 2019
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Education Charter leaders call special education funding a ‘Band-Aid solution’
Leaders in the Achievement School District, charter schools that took over historically low-performing schools, fear further state cuts would seriously affect special education programs for students with some of the highest needs.
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October 2019
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Education Southwest high school fires back at district close recommendation
The 133 students who attend the school might need to find a new school in just over a week, which school leaders say would create a situation where students “would not be well-served.”
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Education New structure at Crosstown High: No principal after leadership shake-up
Alexis Gwin-Miller’s departure as principal came 10 days after a student-led protest. Dozens of students asked questions about the school’s cohort model, which was in place before Gwin-Miller was hired.
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Education Three Memphis schools may exit Tennessee Achievement District
The Memphis schools have shown enough improvement to be eligible to leave the Tennessee Achievement School district next school year. Since that's never happened before, no one knows how that should work.
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Education Crosstown High loses principal after student walkout
Crosstown parents and students were told principal Alexis Gwin-Miller was no longer employed at the school. It’s not clear if Gwin-Miller resigned or was fired.
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September 2019
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Metro Southwest ends its relationship with Early College High School
Southwest Tennessee Community College is cutting ties with the embattled charter school it partnered with to allow high school students to earn a diploma and an associate degree, according to a letter sent to the high school's parents.
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Education 13 people will shape Shelby County’s vision on early childhood education
The goal of First 8 Memphis is to bring together enough money to pay for pre-K for any child in Memphis who wants to attend, especially children in low-income neighborhoods.
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Education Crosstown High students walk out of class to call for diversity, innovation efforts
More than 100 protesting students left their Crosstown classrooms Friday, and presented a letter with their grievances to the administration.
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Education Memphis district recommends closing Southwest Early College High School
The school board will vote on the district’s recommendation to close the school at its October meeting, as the district has to provide 30 days notice on such a vote.
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Education Two closed Memphis schools could get new life
Carnes Elementary and Northside High could be reborn as a charter school and a small business incubator, respectively, pending approval of the Shelby County Schools board.
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Education Memphis state-run school improves math scores 9 percentage points in one year
Cornerstone Prep Denver’s student achievement is the highest of all 30 schools in the Achievement School District, the district of charter schools tasked with turning around Tennessee’s lowest-performing schools.
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August 2019
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Education Parents, students seek SCS inquiry of Southwest Early College High School
Superintendent Joris Ray said what he heard about Southwest Early College High School gave him “grave concern,” but stopped short of saying the district would investigate.
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Education School turnaround model has not improved student achievement, research finds
The state-run district took over low-performing schools in Memphis and Nashville with a goal of vaulting them out of the state’s bottom 5% and into the top 25% academically. The schools – 28 in Memphis and two in Nashville – have performed no better or worse than comparable struggling schools outside of the district.
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Education Achievement School District scores remain stubbornly low
Only 3.4% of high schoolers in the Achievement School District met the state’s proficiency standards on this year’s math and English exams, while 12.6% of elementary students reached that benchmark.
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Education What you need to know about the 2019 school year
Tennessee’s State Department of Education, as well as the state’s two largest school districts, Memphis and Nashville, are heading into their first new school year after major leadership changes.
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July 2019
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Education In a reversal, Memphis charter network to stay with state district for now
Freedom Preparatory Academy will continue operating its Westwood neighborhood elementary school as part of the state turnaround district instead of moving the school to Shelby County Schools oversight.
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Education Education leaders offer advice about Tennessee’s turnaround schools
A dozen people from other states answered Tennessee school chief Penny Schwinn’s request to meet in Nashville and talk about the Achievement School District. Seven years after its creation, the Tennessee district’s third leader recently left; a study found the program has not improved student achievement; and Schwinn said no new schools will join this year.
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Education 10 new schools will open in Memphis this academic year
The openings and closings will bring the total number of Memphis charter schools to 82 — with Shelby County Schools overseeing 57 and the state-run Achievement School District overseeing 25 more.
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Education After seven years, state’s Achievement School District struggles to show results
Political support for the Tennessee achievement district could be waning. After the district’s high profile leader Sharon Griffin left this month, some state lawmakers are calling for hearings on its future.
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June 2019
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Education With Sharon Griffin out after a year, Achievement School District seeks stability
Sharon Griffin was the fourth ASD leader in seven years. Katie Poulos, the state’s new chief of schools overseeing turnaround efforts, said there will be a national search for a permanent replacement.
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