Marta Aldrich, Chalkbeat Tennessee

Marta Aldrich is a senior correspondent and covers the statehouse for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact her at [email protected].

From the Author
Facilities
Tennessee K-12 school building costs escalate amid competing political priorities for education
Chalkbeat Tennessee
A new report found the state needs to spend about $9.8 billion on repairs, upgrades, or construction to keep its K-12 public school buildings safe and conducive to learning.
The average cost of building a new school in Tennessee was $51 million in 2022, compared with $15 million in 2012, according to state data. One factor is the rising cost of construction and materials.
Research
New research finds Tennessee’s costly, disruptive school turnaround work didn’t help students long term
Chalkbeat Tennessee
The study even found evidence that schools operated by the state-run Achievement School District—the more ambitious and aggressive of the two turnaround models—generally worsened high school test scores.
Students gather outside of a campus that’s part of Tennessee's Achievement School District during the school turnaround program's early years in Memphis. (Kyle Kurlick for Chalkbeat)
Literacy/Reading/Language Arts
How Tennessee’s largest school system is stepping up its literacy work
Chalkbeat Tennessee
Superintendent Marie Feagins is embracing a “back to basics” approach to reading instruction as Memphis-Shelby County Schools seeks to improve student test results that rank near the bottom statewide and nationally.
A student engages in a reading exercise at a 2023 summer learning camp at John P. Freeman Optional School in Memphis, Tennessee. State test results for English language arts remain stubbornly low for Memphis-Shelby County Schools. (Andrea Morales / For Chalkbeat)
Leadership
Future of Tennessee school turnaround work uncertain with departure of first statewide leader
Chalkbeat Tennessee
The state's reform efforts—and $500 million in Race to the Top funds awarded to implement them—have achieved lackluster results.
Bren Elliott, right, observes a classroom at LEAD Brick Church School in Nashville in September 2023, soon after starting her job as Tennessee’s first statewide school turnaround superintendent. On Tuesday, the state education department confirmed that Elliott is no longer with the agency. (Image courtesy of Tennessee Department of Education)
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