All Nashville students should have access to high quality computer education.
The Nashville Technology Council believes computer education is an important tool for creating exceptional learners and a significant component of achieving college and career readiness for Nashville public school students. Moreover, the NTC believes that the development of a talented community of technology workers and clear pathways to technology careers is paramount to the continued success and growth of the Middle Tennessee economy.
There are many points of view on what computer education means, how and what standards should be set, how to ensure teacher supports and training are in place and what those should be, how industry can support schools, students, and teachers, and how each school as well as the district can make the right decisions for their students. It is the NTC’s intention to convene stakeholders from across the city and provide a forum for those stakeholders to share their points of view. Taken together, those conversations will be documented and outcomes gathered for consideration by community and education leaders.
The NTC will work to achieve the following:
- Map network of interested parties and gather initial group of stakeholders
- Identify key issues to clarify scope and establish timeline
- Convene meetings and events to spur ideas and discussion on the identified issues related to computer education in MNPS
- Produce summary whitepaper detailing the identified issues, experiences of other communities exploring similar initiatives, the parties and their points of view, opportunities and concerns, and recommendations to consider.
The stakeholders and interested parties on any education initiative are many. There a lot of valuable voices to be heard. The NTC will work to ensure those voices are invited to participate in community conversations, documented for consideration by leaders and decision makers.
An initial, high-level list of those groups includes:
- Initial Key Stakeholder & Research Groups
- MNPS: Administrators, Teachers, Parents, Students, School Board
- Nashville Education Advocacy Groups
- Nashville Nonprofit Organizations
- Higher Education & Teacher Preparation Programs
- Elected Officials & Public Leaders
- Technology & Business Leaders
- TN Department of Education
- Career Education & Training Organizations
- Higher Education and Accelerated Learning Programs
- Leading School Districts in Computer Science & Instructional Technology
- National Research Organizations on Computer Science & Instructional Technology
A more detailed mapping will be the first activity undertaken by the NTC.