TDOE Launches Best for All Central– New Online Academic Tool for Families & Educators

Best for All Central: Tennessee’s Hub for Learning and Teaching Offers Easily Searchable Free Resources for Families and Educators

NASHVILLE, TN—Today, the Tennessee Department of Education launched Best for All Central: Tennessee’s Hub for Learning and Teaching, a new online tool designed to provide school leaders, educators, and families an extensive collection of high-quality, optional resources to support teaching and learning, as well as features for locating specific resources quickly and easily. 

Best for All Central will serve as Tennessee’s online hub for best-in-class instructional and professional development materials for the coming academic year and beyond—all designed to be easily accessible, searchable and free. The department launched this tool a top priority to support Tennessee’s districts, educators, and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Best for All Central can be accessed at http://bestforall.tnedu.gov/.

“Best for All Central will provide anyone in Tennessee with access to high-quality learning supports for free online. The goal of this project has always been to provide a one-stop-shop for excellent learning and teaching resources that will support our teachers and districts throughout the year, and the availability of this resources became even more urgent as Tennesseans navigate new challenges in education stemming from COVID-19,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “We are thrilled to provide this resource for the new school year, and over time, the department will continue adding learning supports and free professional development resources on timely topics that support students, their teachers and their families.”

The resources in the online tool are designed to accommodate various levels of Wi-Fi and technology accessibility in mind, and many of them can be utilized online, downloaded, or printed for later use. 

New school leader and educator professional development resources are available on Preparing Your Distance Learning Classroom, Ongoing Distance Teaching and Learning, and Remediation in a Distance Learning Environment, covering topics that include building relationships, communication routines, organization best practices and how to help students who struggle. Additional professional development modules will be released in the coming weeks.

A standards navigator is available for educators and families to access in-depth information about Tennessee’s academic standards as well as standards-based teaching and learning resources. The standards navigator enables users to explore student expectations for specific standards, see how those standards align across grade levels, view sample assessment items to determine mastery, and access corresponding lessons and resources. Math and English Language Arts standards are available now and similar resources for additional subject areas are in development. 

Additionally, a series of instructional videos with companion lessons on ELA, math, and science are now available and continue to be added, which are intended to provide districts with weekly content on core areas of instruction. Districts across the state, including Hamilton County Schools, Overton County Schools, Fentress County Schools, and Marshall County Schools, are creating instructional videos serving various grades through recovery relief funding grants from the department. Grants are still available for interested districts to film videos to be featured on Best for All Central. 

Moving forward, the department staff, in partnership with Tennessee school districts, will continue to create high-quality instructional, whole child, and professional development resources for district leaders, educators, and families and will update Best for All Central on a regular basis. 

Additionally, the site features user guides along with the ability to filter and search for instructional and professional development resources by grade level, subject, topic, audience, and more. 

“We are in unprecedented times in the field of education dealing with the effects of COVID-19 in our communities across the state. I support the Tennessee Department of Education and their ongoing mission to provide support to our districts, teachers, and families during this trying time. The new online learning tool will provide all stakeholders a central resource to access high quality learning support,” said Russell Dyer, Director of Schools, Cleveland City Schools. “Thank you to our Tennessee Department of Education for being responsive to the needs of districts across the state as we navigate through this current situation.”  

“The recorded lessons and other resources available through Best for All Central help ensure that all students have access to high-quality learning opportunities. I am proud to work in a state that is helping to support its teachers, parents, and students with engaging curricula,” said Brian McLaughlin, 2019-20 Tennessee Teacher of the Year.

Along with all new resources for professional development, standards, and an additional series of instructional videos, Best for All Central makes several department resources more easily accessible for educators and families all in one place— including 320 PBS Teaching Tennessee lessons and companion guides, the STE(A)M Resource Hub, the SchoolMealFinder.com, Foundational Skills Curriculum Supplement, and Professional Learning Community (PLC) guides. 

“Best for All Central provides resources that allow a district to move seamlessly in and out of face-to-face learning and distance learning. Moreover, the resources allow districts to serve students who may be safer at home, and students who can attend lessons in their traditional school environment. Over time, the tool will provide innovative solutions for connecting resources to assessment data, customizing instruction for a variety of situations, and family well-being tools,” said Lisa Coons, Chief of Standards and Materials.

Trinity Education Group (TEG), a trusted digital and engagement company with history of developing mobile learning resources, assisted in development of Best for All Central.  For additional information on the department’s COVID-19 and school reopening related resources, please visit https://www.tn.gov/education/health-and-safety/update-on-coronavirus/reopening-guidance.html