Dear Friends,

Since SCORE was founded, we have supported student-centered education policies in Tennessee. Raising the bar in the classroom and other improvements in education have delivered unprecedented results for children. In particular, having high academic standards can help lead to students better prepared for postsecondary study and to reduced remediation rates.

Review InfographicImportantly, all Tennesseans now have the opportunity to participate in the online public review of Tennessee’s academic standards for math and English language arts as part of an initiative launched by Governor Bill Haslam. Citizens are able to view each individual standard and indicate if it should be kept, moved to a different grade level, rewritten, or removed.

The review is a particularly valuable opportunity for educators across the state to make their voices heard, which was confirmed at the second convening of SCORE’s Tennessee Educator Fellowship on November 7-8. We listened as 22 teachers serving in schools from Covington to Kingsport expressed that they look forward to weighing in and sharing their views on the standards they teach every day.

Of course, more voices are needed in this process. Tennessee Educator Fellows have been working since the launch of the website to get the word out to their colleagues about this opportunity. The infographic on this page, for example, was created by the fellows as a response to several common questions about the review process.

It is important to listen to the teachers, parents, and community members who contribute to the success of our students on a daily basis, and we have an opportunity to carefully review and refine Tennessee’s academic standards to ensure that standards are continually raised, not lowered.

I hope you will set aside some time over the next few weeks to complete the Tennessee Education Standards Review and make your own voice heard.

Very truly yours,

Jamie Signature 4-2014