NewsBreak Original

State awards funds to five educator prep programs to help stem teacher shortage. The State of Tennessee is an expanding an alternative teacher certification program known as "Grow Your Own" that allows individuals with a bachelor's degree to earn a teaching certificate in one year while under the supervision of an existing classroom teacher.

District establishes committee to review charter application, make recommendations. The Jackson-Madison County school system is reviewing an application to open a charter school from American Classical Education (ACE), a network affiliated with Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Statewide group identifies three areas of focus for education policy ahead of legislative session. The Statewide Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) - a nonprofit issue advocacy group chaired by former U.S. Senator Bill Frist - today released a list of key education priorities they believe the Tennessee General Assembly should focus on when they return to session in January.

Nashville Public Education Foundation taps teachers for grant partnership with Amazon. The Nashville Public Education Foundation (NPEF) this week announced the group of Metro Nashville teachers who will be a part of this year's "teacherpreneur" cohort. The group will be tasked with developing innovative solutions to the most challenging problems in Metro Schools. Amazon is a partner in the project and will award a total of $25,000 in cash prizes as well as funding to help advance the ideas developed in the program.