This is a critical time for recruiting outstanding school leaders to Tennessee. Due to several recent successes and continued opportunities for improvement, Tennessee is viewed as an exciting place for educators. The Tennessee Department of Education released a report in 2013 highlighting the fact that “Tennessee students grew more than students in any other state” from 2011 to 2013, “making Tennessee the fastest improving state in the nation.” Our citizens, leaders, and policymakers have a renewed focus on education and are operating with admirable urgency to improve outcomes for our students.

However, this excitement and nationwide attention cannot be fully harnessed due to the restrictive licensure standards for Tennessee public school principals. Currently, principal licensure candidates have two options to obtain a license in Tennessee: (1) attend one of nineteen approved in-state institutions or (2) serve as a principal in another state for three years. These licensure requirements prevent skilled and highly qualified out-of-state candidates from leading Tennessee’s children.

For a compelling example, consider the story of Ashley Croft. Ashley is a lifelong Tennessean, daughter of a Tennessee educator, and product of Tennessee public schools. She graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College with a degree in elementary education and human & organizational development before beginning her career as a middle school teacher in Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS). After earning accolades as her school’s Teacher of the Year, as well as the Tennessee Education Association’s (TEA) Distinguished New Educator for Middle Schools, Ashley took a sabbatical to obtain her master’s degree in school leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has since returned to teaching middle school in Nashville as she attempts to obtain a principal license in her home state. Unfortunately, the current policy prevents her from being a licensed principal in Tennessee.

This is but one example of how the principal licensure policy prevents outstanding candidates from pursuing principal positions in Tennessee’s public schools. In their master plan, the Tennessee State Board of Education names “expand[ing] recruitment and supports for districts to hire effective principals” as a key strategy to meet their priority of “expand[ing] students’ access to effective teachers and leaders.” Unfortunately, current principal licensure policies do not align with this stated priority. By allowing highly qualified out-of-state applicants the opportunity to be licensed to lead our public schools, the Tennessee State Board of Education can begin working toward this stated priority.

Tennessee’s children deserve the best of the best when it comes to their education. They deserve the nation’s best teachers and principals. To this end, please join us in asking the Tennessee State Board of Education to revise their policy and reduce barriers to principal licensure for out-of-state candidates.