February 12, 2018
In honor of Cupid, and in no particular order, here is a list of things we love this week:
♥ More money for education. The Governor’s budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2018-19 contains another year of good news for Tennessee’s classrooms. If the budget is approved, $211.8 million will be invested in education. We’re excited to see more than $55 million of that new funding marked for teacher salaries. There’s also an additional $13 million into the Basic Education Program to support Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI2), supporting students’ individual learning needs. In addition, there will be $6 million to support public charter school facilities.
♥ Great teachers in every classroom. House Bill 1549 would remove red tape from our local school districts, allowing them to attract and retain high-quality teachers from outside of the state. Tennesseans for Student Success supports HB 1549 because we know that having high-quality teachers in our classrooms is the number one factor in student success.
♥ Raising your voice. This week we’re thrilled to host teachers, students, and advocates from across the state for our inaugural Tennesseans for Student Success Day on the Hill. They’ll meet elected officials, network with education leaders, and learn how to raise their voice for Tennessee’s students. Registration for this year’s event is closed, but we hope you’ll follow along at #EdVoices18.
♥ Preparing students for tomorrow’s success, today. February is Career and Technical Education month, and we are proud to be supporting House Bill 1569 as it enables more students to take advantage of CTE courses. Extended career and technical education class sizes for high school students mean more of our graduates will be prepared for success. Tennesseans for Student Success supports HB 1569 and applauds the work to make sure every student is on track for success.
♥ The Olympics. What can we say? We love championing success. Make sure you’re following our social feeds to see our daily Gold Medal for Education. And up-to-date information on bills up this week, committees, and other good things happening in education across the state.
We couldn’t conclude our legislative update for Valentine’s Week without telling you how much we love the support and encouragement you give to Tennessee’s classrooms. We couldn’t do this without you.