Other exemplary programs include Christenberry Elementary in Knox Co, Griffith Elementary in Sequatchie Co., Lynchburg Elementary in Moore Co., David Youree Elementary in Rutherford Co., Riverdale Elementary in Shelby Co., Martin Primary in Weakley Co., and Richland Elementary in Memphis. In order to meet enrollment projections and sustain the student to teacher ratios mandated by the EIA, Tennessee will have to increase the number of its new graduates who are hired in Tennessee, reduce attrition in new and late career educators, and draw more deeply on its reserve pool. These are the conclusions of a new Southern Regional Education Board report, mailed to school systems. The total number of graduates from public and private institutions prepared to teach has increased slightly over the last decade from 2,484 in 1991 to 2,879 in 1997. The supply of graduates in Tennessee is very regional.
Graduates tend to be hired in districts in close proximity to their home college.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that Tennessee graduates are highly regarded and aggressively recruited and hired by other states. The findings suggest several implications for policy. Tennessee must increase the percentages of new teachers who are hired in Tennessee and improve their distribution to both rural and urban areas that are having difficulty recruiting teachers. Schools must recruit earlier. Leslie Marrie Lasater, elementary mathematics, Rutherford County Bonnie Peterson, secondary mathematics, Sumner County Jaci E. Stewart, elementary science, Williamson County and Hardy DeYoung, Jr., secondary science, Alcoa.