About the Department

Tennessee enrolls approximately 950,000 students, and is divided into 142 districts with both significant urban and rural populations. Academically, our students still perform below the national average, and this is compounded by significant gaps by income and race. As a department, we are dedicated to the goal of dramatically improving student achievement, and committed to the belief that children from all backgrounds can succeed when given the opportunities they deserve.

We have three key beliefs that undergird our work. We wish to:

• Build an effective state agency that serves as a delivery system to districts
• Support policies that remove bureaucracy and unleash innovation; and
• Operate from an ethos of continuous improvement through measurement at every level