I am proud to say that I am a Memphian.
We have so many great things happening. I am extremely excited about that Memphis City Schools recently receiving an award of $90 million dollars from the Gates Foundation.
With this grant, Memphis is well positioned to become the premier urban school district. The districts framework for the Teacher Effective Initiative serves as the foundation for Tennessee’s Race to the Top Application. Both initiatives focus on how we support student success by ensuring that ALL children have Great teachers.
Currently Stand for Children is leading the advocacy effort to ensure that the community supports the states Race to the Top Application. Tennessee has an opportunity to make historic changes in public education, and we must Stand up and be a voice for our children.
On January 12th Governor Phil Bredesen called a special session on education reform for the General Assembly to pass legislation for the Race to the Top which is due by January 19th. The grant will ensure that Tennessee students are receiving a high quality every step of the way.
For Memphis it is imperative that this legislation passes because it opens the door for many of the Teacher Effective Initiative components to be implemented which in turns ensures we are doing right by Memphis children.
Our future is in our hands. Please take a moment to sign the petition for Tennessee to be First to the Top and Contact your Legislator and tell the person who answers:
Ask the General Assembly to pass the Race to the Top legislation as proposed, giving Tennessee the best chance to win $500M for our schools. You can go to www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators and type in your zip code to get the number to call.
Congratulations Tennessee and Thank you for making Tennessee First to the Top!
On Friday, January 15, 2010, the Tennessee General Assembly made sweeping legislative changes that put Tennessee in a strong position to win $500 million in a federal Race to the Top grant. The most controversial piece of the legislative changes revolved around the percentage that student progress would play in the evaluation process for teachers and principals. After a long few weeks of negotiations, an agreement was reached by the TEA and the administration to say that 50% of teacher evaluations would be based on student progress: of that 50%, 35% would be TVAAS data and 15% would be other student achievement indicators. This evaluation process will be set up by an advisory board as provided for in the legislation. The final House vote on the bill was 83-9-1; the final Senate vote was 29-3.
Stand for Children was a huge part in the success of this historic education reform legislation. In the past week, we gathered approximately 1000 signatures of support on a petition that was presented to the General Assembly and the Governor’s office. We also have almost 1500 fans on Facebook! To become a fan of Stand for Children in Tennessee, go to http://www.facebook.com/standtennessee.
Thank you so much for all your hard work and support to make a difference in public education for Tennessee’s children.
We still have work that needs to be done in Memphis to support children. Please get involved.
Standing with you,
Kenya Bradshaw
Memphis Director
Stand for Children