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Friends, These past couple of months have been inspiring. Together, we've made it clear we won’t sit on the sidelines while thousands of Tennessee families are relegated to Pre-K waitlists that never pan out. THANK YOU for taking action in support of SB 2179/HB 2201, which would have expanded Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-K program for the first time in 15 years. • Advocates emailed

 

Read more about several bills we support and are keeping a close eye on. These are updates as of March 31, 2022. SB2179/HB2201 – Under this legislation, as amended, 40% of the revenues generated through sports gambling would be dedicated for additional grants to LEAs for pre-k classrooms. According to the bill’s fiscal note, more than 75% of school districts report wait

 

When Oak Ridge Schools Preschool Principal Lisa Downard was first asked to lead the program six years ago, she admits she was afraid. While she had an extensive background teaching special education in elementary schools, she knew just how high the stakes were with Tennessee’s youngest learners. “I thought to myself ‘the only 3 – 4-year-old year I’ve worked with is my

 

Tennesseans for Quality Early Education supports SB 2179 / HB2201 Tennesseans for Quality Early Education today announced support for SB 2179 / HB 2201. Sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile and Rep. Rebecca Alexander,  the legislation would redirect sports gambling revenues to enable the Tennessee Department of Education to fund additional Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) classrooms. Under the Tennessee Sports Gambling Act, which was passed

 

Tennesseans for Quality Early Education issues statement on Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement formula Following the announcement of the legislation for the new student-based funding formula known as the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) formula, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education issues the following statement from President and CEO Blair Taylor. “We applaud the new TISA’s student-centered approach that recognizes and supports the

 

In January 2022, researchers Dale Farran, Mark Lipsey, Kelley Durkin and Sarah Wiesen released the latest findings of a multi-year study following children who participated in Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) program in 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years. In sum, the study finds that early gains faded and the VPK children were doing worse than their control group peers by the end

 

Tennesseans for Quality Early Education issues statement in response to Governor Bill Lee’s State of the State Address Following Governor Bill Lee’s State of the State Address on Monday, Jan. 31, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education issues the following statement from President and CEO Blair Taylor. “We applaud Governor Bill Lee for prioritizing the needs of Tennessee’s children by budgeting an additional recurring

 

The Tennessee Education Funding Review and What it Means for Early Education: A virtual town hall with Commissioner Penny Schwinn   Event overview On January 6, 2022, Tennesseans for Quality Early Education (TQEE) hosted a virtual town hall about the Tennessee public education funding review and what it means for early education. More than 120 early learning advocates joined the meeting live to hear from

 

Tennesseans for Quality Early Education issues statement on draft framework for the new education funding formula The Tennessee Department of Education released a draft framework for the new education funding formula on January 11, 2022. The public is invited to offer feedback on the framework by emailing tnedu.funding@tn.gov no later than Tuesday, January 18. Tennesseans for Quality Early Education President and CEO Blair

 

As 2021 comes to a close, we extend our sincere gratitude to partners like you who help ensure Tennessee’s youngest learners get the brightest start possible. It is important to say that we don’t accomplish anything alone. From a successful legislative session to the launch of the Bright Start Tennessee Network (and everything in between), 2021 has been a year of