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Bright Start TN Lunch ‘n’ Learn – July 26th
Don't miss our July 26th Lunch 'n' Learn! Our topic is “Defining and Measuring School Readiness” and we'll have a discussion with the Northeast TN team that just had a breakthrough. Plus we'll hear from Chattanooga / Hamilton County's Early Matters team, and others. Register here.
Turn on the Subtitles!
The Subtitle Solution: How a Simple Switch Can Supercharge Childhood Literacy In a world where screens reign supreme, an unexpected hero has emerged in the quest to boost childhood literacy: subtitles. Yes, those often-overlooked lines of text at the bottom of the screen may just hold the key to unlocking a world of words for our youngest learners. Studies have long shown that
Serve & Return: How Child Development Starts at Home
Before children are old enough to walk or talk, their brains are being wired in ways that will impact how they learn later in life. Parent-child interactions serve as the earliest building blocks for physical, cognitive, and emotional development, particularly during early childhood. Parents can support the development of their children by actively participating in attentive and reciprocal exchanges. These exchanges
NETN Consortium of School Districts Aligns on K-Readiness
Bright Start Northeast TN is cheering 18 School Districts. After two years of collaborative work, the Northeast TN Consortium of school districts has adopted a shared definition of school readiness and a universal screener tool for the region. Our hats are off to all the collaborators on this monumental project -- especially Niswonger Foundation, Ballad Health and these 18 districts who made
2024 TCAP Scores are IN!
There's progress on 3rd grade reading and math proficiency, but still a long way to go. TQEE's north star is 3rd grade reading and math proficiency. That's because it's a well-documented and crucial benchmark for future academic and life success. Children who are not proficient in reading and math by the end of third grade are more likely to experience compounding difficulties
2024 Legislative Wrap Up
2024 Legislative Wrap Up Each year from January through April or May when the Tennessee General Assembly holds its legislative session TQEE advocates for a set of legislative and budget proposals that would have a meaningful impact on one or more of the priorities outlined in our Policy Blueprint. This year, we supported a number of bills and budget proposals -- you can check
Tyson Foods: Solving for Employee Child Care Pays Big Dividends
The Challenge Finding quality, affordable childcare for working parents – and especially for shift workers who often have non-traditional hours – can be a huge challenge that impacts both working families and the businesses that employ them. Across Tennessee, more than 80% of parents of young children report employment disruptions due to inadequate childcare, citing affordability, quality and access as major challenges.1 For
Paid Family Leave is Good for Babies – and Business – in Tennessee
TQEE Applauds Passage of 2023 Paid Family Leave Legislation Tennesseans for Quality Early Education applauds the General Assembly and Governor Bill Lee for passing legislation to provide six weeks of paid family leave to state employees (including public educators) and a new state tax credit to help businesses provide paid family leave to employees. The new tax credit matches the existing federal
Statement on Tennessee’s gains in third grade reading
Following the release of statewide third grade reading test scores by the Tennessee Department of Education, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education issues the following statement: “We are glad to see that Tennessee students made historic gains in third grade reading scores this year. The 40 percent proficiency rate marks a 4.3 percentage point increase from the previous year, and the largest percentage
2023 Legislative Wrap Up
Momentum builds for early care and education in Tennessee During the first year of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly, a large number of policy initiatives that align with Tennesseans for Quality Early Education’s Policy Blueprint 2.0 gained momentum. Below, we outline important legislative and budget items related to our priorities of high-quality birth-through-age-eight learning environments, child physical and mental health and development,
