TQEE proposed our most robust policy agenda at the start of 2020. Legislation to expand pre-k, increase high quality child care seats and address unspent TANF funds progressed through the committee process. Those bills remain poised for action by the committees if the legislature reconvenes this year. If the legislature does not return for an…
» Read MoreCategory Archives: Pre-k
PreK Leaders Share Tips to Defeat COVID ‘Cool Down’
Parents and caregivers are usually a child’s most important teacher, but school closures associated with the COVID-19 spread adds even more meaning to the phrase “parents as teachers.” Parents and teachers are all too familiar with the term “summer slide” – when children forget or lose what they learned in the school year, while on…
» Read MoreMayor Jeff Griggs – Lexington, TN – On Early Education, PreK and Child Care
Jeff Griggs, Mayor of Lexington, TN was a welcome supporter at this year’s TQEE Day on the Hill. He joined dozens from across the state advocating for legislation that will provide our children with improved early education. Mayor Griggs echoes our passion for equipping Tennessee’s youngest learners with the strong foundation they need for future…
» Read MoreA 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 summary HERE! You might also be interested in: Serve and Return: How Child…
» Read MoreTennesseans 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 strongly united in the view that the state’s public education system is on the…
» Read More$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 reported that Tennessee has amassed a $732 million surplus reserve of federal TANF (Temporary…
» Read MoreReport 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 K-3 schools and were taught by highly effective teachers – significantly outpaced their peers…
» Read MoreEvidence 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 extend into adulthood. And because high-quality is essential to sustained pre-k benefits, Tennessee’s Voluntary Pre-k…
» Read MoreTQEE Statement on Voluntary Pre-k Funding Awards
“High quality pre-k works – students who are enrolled in quality programs have a measurable advantage over their peers who do not attend pre-k. The 2016 reforms approved by the Tennessee General Assembly, including the introduction of competitive grants for VPK funding, elevated quality standards across the state for truer consistency of quality. Tennessee should…
» Read MoreTN Voluntary Pre-k Makes Quality Strides
With recent news that the State of Tennessee Department of Education (TNDOE) has granted funding for Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) classrooms in 138 school districts, it’s important to underscore that investment in high quality Pre-K is vital if Tennessee is going to improve our public schools. The immediate priority is to improve the percentage of third…
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