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A Bold, Urgent 2020 Agenda for Early Learning
We released our 2020 legislative agenda today! It's bold, and urgent and needs your support! From expanding PreK, to setting a new course for affordable, quality child care, to doubling down on early literacy programs - the stakes are high! Read the
Tennesseans believe early education is key to ‘right track’ for public education
New poll of Tennessee voters shows overwhelming support for policy proposals to improve early learning outcomes birth to third grade. In the current partisan environment, Tennessee Republicans and Democrats often agree on very little. But when it comes to education, they’re
$1 Billion and Change
How could this be? Why didn't Tennessee policymakers know? What should we do with all this money? Those are questions being asked in response to a recent report issued by the Beacon Center, a conservative Tennessee think tank. In October Beacon
Mayors Appreciation Luncheon Links Early Education and Workforce
Mayors from West and Middle Tennessee gathered at Natchez Trace State Park in September to celebrate early education successes and learn more about the link between early education and a highly skilled workforce. Headlining the event was Tennessee's Commissioner for
Child Care Report News and Press
Our child care report series has garnered a lot of great press across the state, with more to come! We're keeping track of it all here so it's easy to find for our coalition members. Murfreesboro's Daily News Journal: https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2019/09/14/childcare-tennessee-workforce-child-care-needs-cost-revenue-families/2266422001/ Clarksville's The
TQEE Reacts to TNReady Release
The following statement is issued today by Mike Carpenter, executive director, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education, in response to release of TNReady 2018-19 data: “Improvement of student performance is good news for Tennessee – it demonstrates that the tireless efforts of
Report Confirms: PreK Advantage Carries Through 3rd Grade Given Effective K-2
Vanderbilt researchers, together with the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, have released a new working paper with major implications for early education in Tennessee. The paper confirms Tennessee PreK students who subsequently experienced “sustaining environments” – meaning they attended high performing
Preventing The Summer Slide
Summertime provides children a welcome break from the classroom. Summer vacations means fun – playtime with friends, family gatherings, adventure and lazy days. But when children spend two or more months away from the regular exercise of learning they are at
Children’s Mental Health #1 Concern of Teachers
“Without question, it’s the No. 1 piece of feedback I heard from every single group,” [Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner] Penny Schwinn told Chalkbeat this week. “There is a growing concern about how we can support our children, not only
Evidence of High-Quality Pre-k Value Grows
The evidence of the value of high-quality pre-k has always far exceeded reports that pre-k is not effective. That trend continues with the release of a study by Nobel Prize-winning economist, James Heckman, detailing the benefits of high-quality pre-k that
