Stand for Children

Help Save Tennessee’s 934 Pre-K Classrooms

Saving the state’s pre-K classrooms serving 18,000 4-year-olds is up to us. While pre-K has had incredible support from Governor Bredesen and majority bipartisan support by the Tennessee legislature in recent years, child advocates must be aware of the shifting sands in 2010. This year is a gubernatorial election, and we face an ever-tightening state budget.

Pre-k is at risk. Fortunately, you can take two steps to help:

Join us at our Pre-K Day on the Hill on Tuesday, February 16. Click here to register and learn more.
Have your child “Color for Pre-K”! Click here for a fun coloring activity that shows your family’s support of Tennessee’s vital early education program. Spread the word about Coloring for Pre-K:

www.stand.org/tn/lovepreK

Pre-k Counts in the Race to the Top

We’re pleased that pre-k was included as a priority in the final Race to the Top guidelines. Click here to read the Executive Summary and visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html for more information. Go to our State Campaigns page to learn more about pre-k as it relates to Race to the Top and what next steps we must take to promote and preserve pre-k (such as our February 16 Pre-K Day on the Hill!).

In the News: Pre-K and Education Headlines

Read press highlighting ongoing support for pre-k, funding struggles, and the needs in schools across the state.

"GOP senators slash revenue, spending from Bredesen budget" by Tom Humphrey, Knoxville News Sentinel
"Stop Playing Games with Pre-K" Opinion by Andy Spears, Former Director of Policy & Outreach
"State report predicts college preparedness with sixth-grade test data" by Amy Griffith Graydon
"Support Pre-K Funding" by Andy Spears, Former Director of Policy & Outreach
"Pre-K programs among best investments" by Marc E. Taylor
"Legislative Notebook" by Richard Locker (mentions Stand for Children!)
"Teachers: More career, technical education classes needed" by Scott Broden

Thanks for Making Tennessee First to the Top

The First to the Top campaign has ended—with success! Nearly 7,000 Tennesseans added their voice to the call for improvements to education. Tennessee is now in a strong position to win up to $500 million in federal Race to the Top grant funds for improvements to our schools.

Learn more about the First to the Top campaign success and Race to the Top.

See our poll results showing that 80% of Tennesseans support our state’s Race to the Top bid for up to $500 million.

Read “Teacher performance is key in TN’s Race to the Top” – a recent Tennessean opinion piece by Michelle Greenfield, a teacher and Stand for Children Team Coordinator.

Check out Governor Bredesen’s address to the Tennessee General Assembly about the special session on education. He acknowledged Stand for Children’s work in mobilizing support for the Race to the Top proposal. Please follow the links to see the full text and video of the speech given on January 12, 2010.

Our 2009 Policy Agenda - Moving Schools Forward

Stand for Children believes that every child in Tennessee should have access to quality early education, well-funded schools, excellent teachers, and high standards for student achievement. Read more about our plan to keep schools moving foward in 2009, even in these tough times.

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