Policy makers in Tennessee have established a solid foundation for high school transformation by aligning high school diplomas to college entrance requirements and providing opportunities for advanced coursework and work-based learning to every student across the state. Tennessee students have multiple opportunities to take part in early postsecondary opportunities, including access to free AP courses through a virtual platform. One objective of these early postsecondary opportunities is to ensure that students are ready to take advantage of Tennessee Promise, a scholarship and mentoring program that provides high school seniors with two years of tuition-free attendance at one of the state’s community or technical colleges.
Communities across the state of Tennessee are also embarking on high school transformation efforts that can serve as nationwide models. For example, Elizabethton High School, in collaboration with the XQ Institute, designed a more student-centered school focused on community improvement and entrepreneurship. At Crosstown High in Memphis, another school designed in collaboration with XQ, every student experiences project-based learning across all subjects, often in partnership with local organizations.
To accelerate these efforts, state leaders could explore opportunities to broaden seat time flexibility policies and reignite the High School Innovative Models grant program or other initiatives to incentivize high school redesign.
