This year, The Education Trust in Tennessee is celebrating two years since we began building a movement for education justice in the state. Each day we work to ensure that all students – regardless of their skin color, families’ income, language spoken at home, or who they love – have access to high-quality learning opportunities that allow them to achieve educational excellence.
Working alongside advocates, teachers, community leaders and students, through our research, policy analysis, and advocacy, the last two years we have:
- Formed our P-12 and Higher Education Policy Councils whose members act as ambassadors, advocates, and allies to help expand and deepen the influence of Ed Trust in Tennessee. The Council members helped us lay a strong foundation at our inception and continue to advise on a bold policy agenda.
- Formed a statewide Alliance with over 70 partner organizations, coalesced around one equity-centered policy agenda.
- Launched The Palladium, our monthly newsletter, Twitter and Instagram accounts to communicate timely and important education updates to our network of advocates.
- Developed a student voice engagement strategy to center the experiences of historically underrepresented students in Tennessee. Students in our network have authored blogs, op-eds, served on numerous state and national virtual panels and even led a virtual student roundtable with U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona.
- Conducted over 30 virtual webinars, focus groups and workshops aimed at equipping advocates with the tools, data and research they need to champion the education equity issues they care about the most.
- Designed a series of websites and content, including empoweredtn.org which showcases our student voice work, edtrust.org/tennessee/thrive featuring our college access initiative, and thealliancetn.org/dollars-and-sense/ which provides tools, research and fact sheets for funding reform advocacy.
- Wrote a series of reports, briefs and fact sheets including:
- “Segregation Forever?”: The Continued Underrepresentation of Black and Latino Undergraduates at Public Colleges and Universities in Tennessee. A report that examines how access for Black and Latino students at the nation’s 101 most selective public colleges and universities has changed since 2000.
- An Examination of the 2021 Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act(SB7002/HB7004). An in depth look at a component of the Tennessee Learning Loss Remediation and Student Acceleration Act that focused on the retention of 3rd graders that do not score proficient on state standardized testing.
- Separate and Unequal. An examination of how higher education funding in Tennessee is ‘separate and unequal,’ given systemic non- and under-funding. It offers policy remedies andrecommendations to rectify decades of inequitable funding.
- TN25: Mapping Our Future Together, A report that aims to equip advocates with research, data and bright spots to create their vision for education in 2025.
- Dollars and Sense. A resource guide for all things education funding in Tennessee, complete with a learning series, school finance glossary and advocacy guides.
- Organized more than 10 sign-on opportunities and public statements.
- And more!
Share our story
If you have participated in any of our equity actions, virtual convenings, served on our working groups or committees, or used our materials to support your advocacy efforts, help us celebrate by sharing the post below. Thank you for your support and partnership over the last two years! #EdTrustTNturns2