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Expressing concern that a majority of Tennessee third-graders are not proficient in reading and math, mayors from across rural West Tennessee have formed a coalition to support the advancement of early education. “It is a fact of life that to attract good paying jobs to our area, we must have a skilled workforce. What many people don’t think about is that building

 

How do you support a child? The answer is a little different now than in 1872, the year a group of women from Chattanooga churches opened a food and clothing pantry for orphaned girls. The Chambliss Center has seen its mission change from pantry to orphanage to shelter to group home and finally, today, to a unique round-the-clock childcare center. But at

 

Jennifer Pignolet of the Memphis Commercial Appeal wrote a terrific article last week describing Porter Leath's home visiting program and its impact. Read her article HERE. We've also written a blog post about a family served through Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee's early home visiting program, which you can read HERE. Home visiting professionals visit families in their homes to coach parents on how to

 

The candidates for governor debated this past Tuesday in Kingsport, and the Tri-Cities community sent a message they want Early Education at the top of the agenda. The Kingsport Times News ran a front page article on the day of the debate citing local leaders urging the candidates to make early education a priority. Beth Rhinehart, CEO of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce

 

After three years, Cassandra Ruffin knows the first rule of visiting the Dennard family. ”You cannot come into this home with only one book,” Ruffin said. So although she’s there specifically to check in on 3-year-old Ja’Mykal, she arrives at the Oakhaven town home with a bag of children’s books for the boy and his two older siblings.  The Dennard family's experience with how

 

Explaining what the Voluntary Pre-K program in Kingsport City Schools means to my son Samuel and I is a "where do I begin" task. My son Samuel has many health issues that have the potential to interfere with his education. He requires extra attention to the health issues, yet needs to be encouraged to be more independent.

 

The debate's one question about early education was a good one:  "Why does Tennessee have so many children not reading at grade level by 3rd grade, and what would you do to fix it?  Karl Dean voiced support for "universal Pre-k" and making it an option for all Tennessee 4 year olds. TQEE's recent poll showed 94% of Tennesseans favor that solution.

 

Kyle Spurgeon, CEO of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, this week joined a large and growing number of Tennessee leaders calling for greater focus on improving early education, birth through 3rd grade .  In a guest column in the Jackson Sun, Spurgeon noted, "Low proficiency in third grade is a clear indication that the quality of children’s learning prior to third grade requires

 

Representative Mark White (R), Shelby County, last week called for a bipartisan early education caucus of the House and Senate to work collaboratively with the new Governor's administration. White said, "Our guiding focus should be to advance evidence-based, high quality policies that are succeeding in some Tennessee communities and in other states". In a guest column in The Commercial Appeal, White cited important