Commentary: Workforce partnerships light the spark to improve student success. Tennessee needs more of them.

Recent conversation around school performance in Tennessee has been dominated by student growth and achievement measures.  This is understandable, as both provide valuable insight for school accountability tools and have a strong correlation with student outcomes.Yet an often-overlooked factor in the formula for student success is college and career readiness.  After all, classroom work means little if it is not aligned with postsecondary or workforce expectations.Aligning K-12 education with workforce needs requires a culture of communication, collaboration, and innovation between public schools and industry leaders.  In Tennessee, some communities have taken the lead on this initiative, and we believe they deserve recognition.