This Thanksgiving, we’re especially thankful for…
10. The Tennesseans for Student Success family grew this year to welcome Operations Manager, Brooke Gray.
9. Our second full summer for Tristar Reads was a smashing success. Participation in the program more than quadrupled, and our students read over 140,000 minutes this summer. We were thrilled to award three $1,000 college scholarships to our top readers. And we got to meet a binturong.
8. As our Legislative Scorecard shows, the second first session of the 110th General Assembly continued to support the policies and priorities that support student success.
7. We celebrated these reward schools who support, promote, and encourage student success every day.
6. 79% of our students have mastered, are on track, or are approaching where they need to be in English Language Arts. In math, 74%.
5. Our Facebook feeds are full of these great pictures of kindergarteners hiding turkeys.
4.  With Tennessee-specific academic standards, and an assessment fully aligned to those standards, Tennessee’s parents, educators, students now have an accurate look at where we are and how we can get to where we need to be.
3. There’s a strong accountability system in place to make sure everyone – you, me, elected officials, teachers, community leaders, administrators, parents, students – everyone involved in the classroom is accountable for student success.
2. Tennessee’s public schools aren’t one-size-fits-all. When there are more choices in public education, more students succeed.
1. You. We’ve said it over and over again; we couldn’t do this work without you.
Whether you’ve called a legislator, joined us to advocate in the General Assembly, invited an educator to share their teacher voice, promoted our social media feeds, or became a Tristar Reader, you’ve helped create an opportunity for every student in Tennessee to obtain success.
From the Tennesseans for Student Success family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!