Nashville Public Education Foundation

With today’s Executive Order about dismantling the Department of Education, we wanted to take a moment to look back at the federal government’s role in public education. While most decisions about public schools are made at the state and local level, the federal government has long played a part in supporting and improving education nationwide. At NPEF, we focus on using data to spark thoughtful conversations about critical topics in public education. Check out our latest infographic to learn more about the federal role in public education and key programs led by the U.S. Department of Education. Read more at https://lnkd.in/dHq7RvyN.

Congratulations again to this year’s first place #NashvilleTeacherpreneur winner, Saul Calzadilla! Last week, our ten Nashville public school educators pitched their solutions to a panel of judges to solve some of education’s toughest challenges. Within a two-minute presentation, they competed for a chance to win cash prizes and seed funding to implement their idea. Saul Calzadilla, a STEAM Teacher at Whitsitt Elementary, won first place for his idea to provide the framework and tools for schools to start their own community gardening programs, which will build relationships, grow knowledge, and address food insecurity. Thank you, Amazon, for serving as the presenting sponsor and investing in the district’s teaching talent and their solutions to help students thrive. Discover this year’s winning ideas and the full cohort at https://lnkd.in/dGJYFzdm.

Congratulations to this year’s second place #NashvilleTeacherpreneur winner, John Stayskal! Recently, the Teacherpreneur cohort pitched their ideas for a chance to win prize money and additional seed funding to implement their pilot. Our Nashville public school educators have been working for the past two months to conduct research and interviews, build out the details of their ideas, and craft their pitch presentations. We are grateful to Amazon for their generous support of the program. John Stayskal, an English Language Arts teacher at KIPP Antioch College Prep Middle, won second place for his idea to restructure the school day schedule to provide more consistent and meaningful collaborative planning time for teachers. Check out all the winners at https://lnkd.in/dGJYFzdm.

Congratulations to this year’s third place #NashvilleTeacherpreneur winner, Jamia Lockmiller! Jamia Lockmiller, a Physical Education teacher at Tusculum Elementary, won third place for her idea to increase access to sports and recreational equipment to promote exercise and student engagement. The Teacherpreneur program harnesses educator innovation by supporting teacher-led ideas that help all students thrive.?Learn more about the Teacherpreneur program and this year’s winning ideas at https://lnkd.in/dGJYFzdm.

Congratulations to this year’s #NashvilleTeacherpreneur Community Favorite award winner, Celia Bowman-Jeffries! Last week’s Teacherpreneur Pitch Night was a huge success! Our ten Nashville public school educators pitched their solutions to a panel of judges to help effect positive change in their classrooms and the district. Thank you Amazon for serving as the presenting sponsor of the program. Cohort members shared preview videos of their pitches online for the community to vote on. Online voting from the video previews as well as live audience voting at the pitch event determined the winner for the Community Favorite award. Celia Bowman-Jeffries, a multilingual learner teacher at Antioch Middle School, won $2,500 for her idea to provide supports to create more welcoming and supportive social and academic learning environments for multilingual students. Learn more about the Teacherpreneur winners at https://lnkd.in/dGJYFzdm.

We want to take a moment to shout out our incredible judges at last week’s Teacherpreneur Pitch Night! Our #NashvilleTeacherpreneur cohort took the stage to pitch their solutions for some of education’s toughest challenges. We are thankful to our judges for their thoughtful questions and expertise: Courtney Ross from Amazon, Shani Dowell from Possip, Judge Sheila Calloway from the Davidson County Juvenile Court, and Dr. Laquita Stribling from Metro Nashville Public Schools. They represented a variety of entrepreneurial and educational expertise, providing a well-rounded perspective to help select this year’s top three winners. Learn more about the top three Teacherpreneur winners at https://lnkd.in/dGJYFzdm.?

This week’s Teacherpreneur Pitch Night was a successful showcase of teacher talent and innovation! Our Teacherpreneurs worked hard over the last two months to hone their ideas and develop their pitch presentations to share their solutions. We are so proud of what these ten?Nashville public school?educators have accomplished and are looking forward to seeing how their passion and expertise will continue to make an impact on their students, schools, and across the district. While Wednesday’s event awarded three winners with cash prizes and seed funding to implement their idea as well as one Community Favorite award winner, the rest of the cohort also received the Kay Simmons Award in honor of NPEF’s late founding executive director, along with a cash prize of $1,000. Meet our full cohort and learn more the winning ideas at https://lnkd.in/dGJYFzdm.

We had a great time at the Teacherpreneur Pitch Night! Our cohort of 10?Nashville public school?educators pitched their innovative solutions to help effect positive change for Nashville’s students. They have been working for two months to conduct research and interviews, build out the details of their ideas, and craft their pitch presentations. We are so proud of what this year’s cohort has accomplished. We’d like to extend a special thank you to?Amazon?for their generous support of the Teacherpreneur program as the presenting sponsor and to?Belmont University?for hosting us in the beautiful Fisher Center. Congratulations to Saul Calzadilla of?Whitsitt Elementary School for winning first place! He was awarded $10,000 and seed funding to implement his idea to provide the framework and tools for schools to start their own community gardening programs, which will build relationships and address food insecurity. Second place went to John Stayskal from?KIPP Antioch College Prep, third place went to Jamia Lockmiller of?Tusculum Elementary and the Community Favorite Award went to Celia Bowman-Jeffries of Antioch Middle School. Stay tuned to learn more about their winning ideas and the impact they will make for Nashville’s public schools and students. Our winners were selected by our amazing panel of judges representing a variety of entrepreneurial and educational expertise. We are grateful to judges Sheila Calloway, Shani Dowell, Courtney Ross, and Dr. Laquita Stribling. Curious about this year’s winning ideas? Check it out at https://lnkd.in/dGJYFzdm.?

Voting for the Community Favorite award closes TODAY at 5:00 p.m. Check out the cohort’s pitch preview videos about their ideas, vote for your favorite solution and share with someone you know who is passionate about helping all students thrive in Nashville’s public schools. Watch the previews and cast your vote at https://lnkd.in/dRwFi3vw.

Vote today for your favorite #NashvilleTeacherpreneur idea! We are thrilled to see our ten educators pitch their ideas in just a few days for a chance to win cash prizes and seed money towards implementing their pilot. We need YOUR help to pick one of our winners! The Community Favorite award winner will receive a $2,500 cash prize for their solution. Check out the cohort’s pitch preview videos and vote for your favorite solution. Cast your vote soon - voting closes on Tuesday, March 4 at 5:00 p.m. Watch the previews and cast your vote at https://lnkd.in/dRwFi3vw.