Eastside Elementary School Selected as Finalist for National Institute for Excellence in Teaching’s Founder’s Award, $10,000 Cash Prize
February 4, 2025
School one of five nationwide recognized for outstanding efforts to foster educator excellence and advance student success, contending for a $50,000 grand prize
Rock Island, TN (February 4, 2025) - The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) announced today that Eastside Elementary School in Warren County Schools, Tennessee, won $10,000 for its selection as a finalist for the NIET Founder’s Award. The prestigious Founder’s Award was created by Lowell Milken in 2008 to honor one school in the United States each year for exceptional implementation of NIET’s principles to build educator excellence and advance student success. Eastside Elementary School is among five schools nationwide under consideration for the $50,000 grand prize, which will be announced at NIET’s national conference on February 27.
“Building a team of highly qualified teachers is at the heart of Eastside Elementary School’s mission, leading to remarkable academic growth,” said NIET Founder Lowell Milken. “We commend Principal Rex Crabtree, Warren County Schools Director Grant Swallows, and the district coaches and school staff who have made Eastside a destination of choice for all. Congratulations.”
Founder’s Award finalists are selected by NIET based on several factors, including improving classroom instruction and student academic growth; creating high-quality professional learning and coaching systems focused on the real-time needs of teachers and students; and engaging teacher leaders and school leaders in building a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.
NIET’s partner schools have improved outcomes for educators and students. By elevating teacher leaders and strengthening school instructional leadership teams, Eastside Elementary School increased student academic growth. From 2022 to 2024, Eastside Elementary outpaced the state in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math, with the percentage of students passing ELA increasing by 16.7 points and Math by 21.1 points, compared to Tennessee’s gains of 2.5 and 5.6 points, respectively. By 2024, the school had closed the gap with the state, earning an “A” letter grade in recognition of its improved performance and unwavering dedication to student achievement.
"Eastside Elementary School demonstrates what is possible when instructional coaching and support for teachers is paired with the use of high-quality curricula,” said NIET Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joshua Barnett. “By prioritizing exceptional teaching in every classroom and high-quality instructional materials, the school is ensuring that all students have access to the opportunities they deserve."
What Makes Eastside Elementary School Unique?
Eastside Elementary School is located in Rock Island, Tennessee, a rural town about an hour north of Chattanooga. The school serves approximately 400 students ranging from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Eastside Elementary has partnered with NIET for three years to strengthen the instructional skills of leaders and teachers, funded in part through a Math Implementation Grant from the Tennessee Department of Education to improve the use of a high-quality math curriculum.
This work includes training instructional coaches to support teachers in deepening their understanding and use of high-quality instructional materials. NIET has also supported the school to more effectively engage its instructional leadership team (ILT) in helping teachers understand the math materials and how to most effectively pace lessons and units.
“Before working with NIET, I had a leadership team but it was not focused on instruction. Once I learned about the structure of an ILT from NIET, I was energized,” said Crabtree. “This shift has empowered us to become data-driven instructional leaders and allows us to make more informed decisions that directly impact student success."
Principal Rex Crabtree and his ILT have cultivated a collaborative and growth-oriented environment, where educators and students work together to achieve excellence.
“My staff have embraced every change and committed to focusing on each student’s success. We make it our priority to use every data point available to measure how well students were mastering standards, and the results have been transformational. We are all in this together,” said Crabtree.
Eastside Elementary has established NIET structures and best practices, including individualized coaching and support for teachers and a shared leadership model through an ILT. Implementing high-quality instructional materials in tandem with providing job-embedded professional learning for teachers has resulted in increased student achievement.
Eastside Elementary School’s team also took action to address its historically high rate of student absenteeism which in the 2022-23 school year, had reached 20.9% – one of the highest truancy rates in Warren County Schools. School leaders took action by creating a Students Working Against Truancy (SWAT) team that developed ways to incentivize attendance resulting in the chronic absenteeism rate dropping to 9.5% for the 2023-24 school year. Teachers are also thriving in the positive learning environment at Eastside Elementary, personifying the motto of "One Team, One Goal, High Levels of Learning for All!"
“We are becoming a destination school. Teachers want to be here, and students want to be here. In the past, teachers came just to gain experience before moving on to another school,” said Crabtree. “But now, we are changing that. We are building something special, and people are choosing to stay and be part of our growth and success.”
Eastside Elementary School joins fellow finalists Provencal Elementary/Junior High School (Natchitoches Parish School Board, Louisiana); Shenandoah Elementary School (Shenandoah School Corporation, Indiana); Somerset High School (Somerset Independent School District, Texas); and Waterloo Elementary School (Laurens County School District 55, South Carolina) in contention for the $50,000 Founder’s Award grand prize.
For images of Eastside Elementary School and more information about the NIET Founder’s Award, visit the NIET newsroom. For interviews and more on the Founder's Award announcement, please contact Laura Blank (laura@keylightcommunications.com) or Katie Elliott (katie@keylightcommunications.com). Follow conference news – including the Founder's Award – on social media using @NIETteach or #NIET2025.
About NIET
The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) is a national nonprofit based in Phoenix, Arizona that serves states and districts nationwide. For 25 years, NIET has partnered with schools, districts, states, and universities to build educator excellence and give all students the opportunity for success. NIET’s initiatives, including the TAP System, teacher and leader development, school improvement, rubric and observation systems, and educator preparation, have impacted more than 350,000 educators and 3.5 million students across the U.S.
As we celebrate our 25th anniversary, we are proud to honor our partners’ success and share the results of intentional, sustained investments in educator effectiveness. Learn more in our anniversary report, Building Educator Excellence: 25 Years of Impact.