Media Release: Early education advocates across Tennessee are cheering results of the 2019 Tennessee legislative session that include a slate of approved policy proposals aimed at boosting learning prior to third grade as a strategy to improve Tennessee’s public education system. Highlights include a new pilot to create a network of early grades literacy and…
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Oak Ridge Parents Say PreK Has Huge Impact, Should Be Available to All
Let’s face it, parenting can be difficult and getting a child prepared to attend school can be a challenge, even under perfect circumstances. For these Oak Ridge families, pre-K was a valuable advantage in getting their kids ready to be learners. Within this group, impediments to speech and hearing compounded the usual challenges of early-years…
» Read MoreWilson County Parents "Beyond Grateful" for Tennessee Pre-K
How does Pre-K impact the lives of the children and families that participate? A group of Wilson County parents recently wrote letters to Lebanon Special School District leaders with their enthusiastic description of how the experience has advanced their children’s development and prepared their children to succeed when they attend kindergarten. “My kids attending her…
» Read MoreGreat Pre-k Teachers Turn Play Into Powerful Early Learning
About two minutes into a conversation with Lenoir City Schools teacher and Preschool Program Director Melody Hobbs, you start to realize how much she has invested in learning how preschoolers work. “I love the four-year-old mind. I mean, it’s not three and it’s not five. Right?” Hobbs says with a laugh. “I mean, it’s just…
» Read MoreWitness the transformation of a child
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.
» Read MoreA single dad and his sons’ success
Charles Lampkin, a father of five, suddenly found himself as the sole parent of his five sons, with four of the them under the age of five. “I moved to Memphis from New York for a job and I did not anticipate being a single father, but those things happen and wound up with a 3 year old, a 2 year old, a 1 year old and one infant,” Lampkin recalls. “I was in trouble and looking for a daycare but a friend of mine suggested Porter-Leath instead because they are a school.”
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