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Back-to-School 2020: Care.com survey reveals what’s really on the minds of working parents
We thought you'd be interested in the COVID-19 Working Parents Survey by Care.com. They asked 1,000 working parents with children under the age of 15 how they’re feeling about juggling their child care responsibilities with work responsibilities during this crisis. Here’s what the survey revealed: 64% of parents said they are at least somewhat uncomfortable returning their children to child care or
Working Parents Are Hitting Their Coronavirus Breaking Point—and Paying for It
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports the dire impact that COVID-19 is having on child care – many options are closed and prices are rising. According to the article: "Working parents going on six months without school or camp are about to take another hit: rising child-care costs. Parents with school-age children are hiring sitters or paying for online
Tennessee’s Child Care Crisis is an Economic Crisis
As Tennessee and other states nurture the reopening of their economies, a growing child care crisis poses extreme challenges for working parents and employers. With many school systems remaining closed this fall and nearly half of all child care centers now closed as well, working parents of young children face high-pressure decisions about how they balance care for their kids, while earning
Parents Scramble as Child Care Teeters on Brink of Collapse
Child care has always been vitally linked to economic productivity. Working parents need child care services to support their efforts to earn a living for their families and provide a stable, nurturing environment for their precious children. That the national and Tennessee economies are critically dependent on a fully functioning child care system is a truth on primetime display at the moment.
TQEE Mayors Coalition Keeps Growing – Now 120+
With Tennessee’s underperforming public education system (most students are not proficient in reading or math) posing a threat to our state’s economic future, a growing number of mayors are working together to expand and improve early education. Formed in 2018 by TQEE, the Mayors Coalition now numbers about 120 strong, representing communities that span from Memphis to Bristol. It is a
Summer Learning At Home with PBS
As students step into summer and cap off the end of a disrupted school year, mitigating the proverbial “summer slide” is all the more important. To make sure that the educational gains made over the year are sustained and strengthened over the summer, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) has begun the second phase of its partnership with PBS. Through June and
Tri-Cities Educator Says Pre-K Waitlist Shows Need is Great
Especially in difficult economic times, expanding access to Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-K (TN-VPK) program makes good sense. The reason is simple – TN-VPK works: Vanderbilt researchers have confirmed that Tennessee children who participated in VPK are better prepared for Kindergarten. Moreover, the children maintain academic advantage over their non-VPK peers through 3rd grade when their K-3 teachers and schools are effective. Multiple other studies have
U.S. Chamber Makes the Business Case for High-Quality Child Care
In its publication, Workforce of Today, Workforce of Tomorrow: The Business Case for High-Quality Child Care, the U..S Chamber of Commerce Foundation does one of the best jobs we've seen of articulating the case for state investment in affordable, high quality child care across the nation and right here in Tennessee. Here are excerpts from the Executive Summary. "Business leaders have long understood
Knox Co. Schools In-Home Learning Model: Q&A with Dr. Beth Lackey
Web-based education has become the new normal for school districts across the state, as teachers and students transitioned to remote learning models to curb the spread of COVID-19. While this transition has enabled teachers and students to utilize technology in new ways, it’s also highlighted the need for greater access to online learning materials for students across the state. The in-home learning
New Report: TN PreK Quality Improves Again
Tennessee now meets 8 out of 10 quality standards benchmarks that evaluate the effectiveness of preschool education programs, according to The State of Preschool 2019 report issued by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). This ranking comes as a result of successful policy changes that enabled Tennessee to meet the Continuous Quality Improvement System (CQIS) benchmark for the first
