Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education

“The president and chief executive officer, chief impact officer, vice president of strategy, vice president of finance and operations, and finance manager perform the initial review of the form 990. A draft copy of the form 990 is shared with the audit chair and audit committee for review prior to the draft form 990 being reviewed by the chairman and vice-chair of the board. Upon satisfactory review, the full board receives a copy of the form 990 for review.”

“Score has a written conflict of interest policy which is reviewed and updated, if necessary, annually by the governance committee. Additionally, a disclosure statement along with the copy of the current policy is mailed to each board member annually for completion and acknowledgement. All disclosure statements are reviewed by the president and chief executive officer and chairman of the board to determine if further action is needed.”

“The process includes review and approval by the board of directors or compensation committee of the organization, use of data regarding comparable compensation for others in similar positions, and contemporaneous documentation and record keeping.”

“Governing documents, policies, and financial statements are available upon request.”

“The state collaborative on reforming education's (score) mission is to catalyze transformative change in tennessee education so that all students can achieve success in college, career, and life. Score is an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization that supports student success across tennessee by ensuring all schools and systems meet high expectations; preparing, recruiting, supporting, and retaining excellent teachers and leaders; and aligning k-12 and college with career and life success. Score has four goals that govern the organization's work to drive success for all students and accelerate educational progress in tennessee through 2023: 1. All students receive an excellent public k-12 education. 2. All students earn a credential or postsecondary degree. 3. All students are prepared for a career that enables economic independence. 4. Across all goals, all students have equitable opportunities for success. To create sustained change, score orients its work around a theory of action, an iterative cycle of monitoring the state's education progress, prioritizing the education agenda, generating and identifying proof points, informing and influencing state policy, and providing targeted support for implementation.”

“Advocacy: score builds awareness and support for education issues and works to sustain momentum among organizations and individuals around improving student success in the state of tennessee. Score's efforts in 2021 included the following: - in the 2021 legislative session, score engaged with policymakers, monitored 318 proposed pieces of legislation, and developed 52 bill analyses, with a focus on supporting early literacy, learning loss recovery, statewide assessment, postsecondary pathways, and postsecondary completion strategies. - score developed education policy recommendations for tennessee on key issues including supports for educators and students to accelerate learning amid and following the covid-19 pandemic; allocating federal stimulus resources; assessment and accountability; literacy; high-quality public charter schools; advanced coursework opportunities; postsecondary completion grants; and educator preparation literacy standards. - score worked to elevate education finance as a pressing area of attention for the state throughout 2021. Score convened a coalition of advocacy groups to align on shared principles and policy priorities for student-centered education funding in tennessee. Score also conducted an intensive learning process to build knowledge of education funding and set the stage for change, including a review of funding formula legislation as well as historical finance and student outcomes data. Score worked with state and national leaders to take an in-depth look at education funding in tennessee, identify gaps, and benchmark with other states and communities across the country. Score also provided briefings and background information to education stakeholders about opportunities to improve tennessee's education funding system. - score worked with charter school advocates, leaders, funders, and the broader tennessee education ecosystem to align on shared priorities for the future of the sector at both state and local levels. Score played a role in connecting charter issues into the broader set of tennessee education priorities and elevating them as an area of focus for the state. - score engaged 62 leaders through two cohorts of the complete tennessee leadership institute (ctli) in 2021. Score partnered with the hunt institute to conduct ctli, an annual program designed to support thought leaders from postsecondary institutions, k-12 districts, state and local government, and advocacy organizations to dive into higher education data, foster partnerships, explore innovative solutions, and work toward improved postsecondary completion across the state. Workshop topics in 2021 included equity and quality of access to higher education, supporting student success and completion, and responding to covid-19. - through the tennessee educator fellowship (tef), score helps educators develop deep knowledge of education policy and effective advocacy and communications skills. Tef engaged 28 educators in 2021 through the seventh cohort prepared to advocate for student-centered priorities at the state level and in their local communities and developed a personal vision for educator leadership and advocacy beyond their fellowship experience. - score led a two-pronged approach to accelerate the fafsa completion rate leading up to the tennessee promise fafsa deadline of february 1, 2022. Through a paid and earned media campaign, score raised awareness about tennessee promise and the fafsa deadline for high school students in tennessee. Score also partnered with 5-10 school districts based on need and vulnerable student populations, by giving them microgrants to support their fafsa completion efforts.”

“Research and innovation: score researches key policies, develops tools and reports that elevate important topics, supports pilot efforts in communities across the state to identify proof points for what works to drive student success, and shares best practices to advance score's strategic priorities. In 2021, this work included: - score monitored available data, conducted public opinion polling, engaged stakeholders across the state, and stayed abreast of emerging research to monitor the state's progress and inform key education strategies and areas of focus. Score released its annual state of education in tennessee report, outlining priorities for tennessee to advance student progress in the current context. More than 300 individuals joined virtually and in-person. - score released the landmark going higher report, which urged tennessee to build on its strong higher education policy foundation to address barriers to success and increase students' attainment of degrees and credentials. After an extensive landscape review inclusive of a policy audit, listening tour, and data analysis, score laid out a framework for the next phase of postsecondary improvement efforts in tennessee in the report. More than 265 participants joined a live release event to hear the perspectives of students and national and state leaders about progress, remaining challenges, and opportunities to drive student success. - score developed and hosted a release event for a new stopping summer melt report that examined the startling reality that 40 percent of college-intending students in tennessee drop out of the education pipeline during the transition between high school and higher education. The report laid out recommendations to combat summer melt, informed by surveys and interviews with tennessee high school graduates. Following the report release, score convened a working group of community college leaders who wanted to learn more about summer melt. - score released the funding for learning report to evaluate the current status of the tennessee k-12 funding landscape and lay out guiding principles for a new funding formula. Funding for learning was highlighted in a front-page tennessean article, and score shared the recommendations broadly through a virtual release event and in meetings with stakeholders. - score's higher ed by the numbers: the tennessee postsecondary data book and corresponding web tool supported easy access to and exploration of key data on postsecondary institutions statewide. This report built off score's 2020 k-12 by the numbers report, demonstrating trends and links between k-12 education, higher education, and the workforce. The report provided transparency around equity gaps and demonstrated the importance of data access to drive progress for students. - score developed and broadly shared implementation tools and resources to support districts in covid-19 recovery and reinvention. Numerous blog posts and memos such as the covid-19 impact memo series provided guidance around catalyzing strategic shifts in practice and using stimulus resources to accelerate student learning. A series of score institutes on high-dosage tutoring, summer learning, and education resources provided research-based information, expert perspectives, and examples of how these strategies work in practice. The high-dosage tutoring planning and implementation guide laid out detailed instructions and strategies for school and district leaders to develop and execute their own tutoring programs. Score also provided consultation support for multiple districts on their summer learning and high-dosage tutoring plans. A new education recovery resources page on score's website provided a centralized repository of information on research-based and promising strategies for local leaders. - score convened a group of district and charter leaders from across the state that met regularly through may 2021 to engage in professional learning and pilot innovative ideas to a”

“Activating philanthropy: score works to collaboratively support key partners as their efforts align with score's theory of change. In 2021: - score provided subgrants to organizations at the state level and in communities across tennessee that are aligned with score's mission and vision for student success. These subgrants supported organizations to develop proof-points and expand their impact for students in ways that aligned with and informed statewide education priorities. - score served as a fiscal sponsor for education efforts that advanced score's mission in order to facilitate philanthropic investment in tennessee education, strengthen alignment across initiatives statewide, and maximize effectiveness of projects. Through fiscal sponsorship, score supported student-centered efforts statewide, such as the piloting of a strong charter authorizer evaluation process and the development of the tennessee educator preparation report card. Score also served as strategic adviser and fiscal sponsor for knox promise, a community-based comprehensive approach which provides knox county tennessee promise students with additional monetary and advisory support to attain postsecondary degrees and credentials. - score convened the tennessee learning circle (tlc) of education philanthropic leaders across the state to learn about best practices and consider education priorities for tennessee, with a focus on the impact of covid-19 and education finance.”

“Contract labor - miscellaneous contractors/consultants: program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 28,841. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 28,841. Contract labor - project annual report: program service expenses 36,645. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 36,645. Contract labor - project tef alumni engagement: program service expenses 218,723. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 218,723. Contract labor - project policy maker outreach: program service expenses 3,000. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 3,000. Contract labor - project partner support: program service expenses 100,000. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 100,000. Contract labor - policy & research support: program service expenses 2,222,519. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 2,222,519. Contract labor - project strategic communications: program service expenses 130,713. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 130,713. Contract labor - advocacy outreach support: program service expenses 406,000. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 406,000. Contract labor - technical assistance support: program service expenses 252,524. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 252,524. Contract labor - polling: program service expenses 84,000. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 84,000. Contract labor - policy memo/reports: program service expenses 18,899. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 18,899. Contract labor - strategic practice: program service expenses 245,914. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 245,914.”