MAYOR APPOINTS PROJECT MANAGER FOR EDUCATION FIRST INITIATIVES
Continuous improvement coordinator for MNPS to lead mayor's education reform efforts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 16, 2008) -
Mayor Karl Dean announced today that he has appointed a project manager to oversee and coordinate the initiatives outlined in his education reform blueprint released last month.
Laura Hansen, currently the continuous improvement coordinator for Metro Nashville Public Schools, has been selected for the position. She will begin work in early November. Her position will be funded through the Education First Fund, which the mayor helped establish at the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
“We are making great headway in our efforts to address teacher recruitment and student engagement. We have successfully attracted two national teacher recruitment organizations to Nashville – Teach For America and The New Teacher Project. The Attendance Center has been funded and is operating, and we will soon see some progress on our efforts to expand afterschool programs. But we have a lot of work still to do,” Dean said.
“Laura’s experience overseeing change initiatives in Metro makes her the right person to coordinate education initiatives in my office, and I look forward to working with her.”
The education reform blueprint has five areas of focus, which Hansen will coordinate: teacher recruitment and professional development, increased school choice, youth engagement, youth employment and career exploration, and reforming existing schools.
In Hansen’s current position she leads a department that uses quality methodologies to identify opportunities for improvement, creates plans for implementation of improvement initiatives and facilitates change management.
“Maximizing the potential of organizations and the people within them has always been a passion for me,” Hansen said. “I believe in the power of teamwork and the limitless potential of people who come together with a common goal; to achieve incredible results. I am excited to be invited to join Mayor Dean’s team and consider it a great honor to be given the opportunity to serve the city in this capacity.”
Hansen has also served MNPS in the capacity of project/quality manager over the past five years. She served on the 2005 Board of Examiners for the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE), where she utilized the Baldridge Criteria to evaluate organizational performance and provide feedback for multiple organizations. This knowledge was then utilized to lead MNPS in their completion of a Level 1 application through the TNCPE.
Prior to joining Metro Schools, she worked as an independent contractor for multiple educational software companies, providing training to K-12 teachers and staff on how to incorporate educational technologies into a classroom environment with the goal of providing differentiated instruction.
For media inquiries contact:
Janel Lacy
(615) 862-6020
janel.lacy@nashville.gov