The mission of the Great Schools Partnership is to serve as a catalyst, think tank,

 incubator and start-up funder for making Knox County Schools globally competitive.

As we reported in our Summer Update, this summer Knox County Schools conducted a mandatory summer school for rising 9th graders who had not demonstrated proficiency in math and/or reading and language arts.

This quote from Sandy Kress, a fellow in Education Policy at the George W. Bush Institute, summarizes why there is the need for this type of summer program: "When kids are behind in school at the end of eighth grade, they are far more likely to drop out of high school. The odds are worse for children from low-income neighborhoods."

The 8-week program was offered at 14 area middle schools and transportation was provided to reduce any attendance barriers. This past summer, 204 rising 9th graders attended with 73% of those successfully completing their coursework, enabling them to enter high school this fall. These students' high school progress continues to be tracked and through this fall semester 87% were achieving success.

We are planning ways to reach even more students next summer and have an even greater percentage of students succeed and advance to high school. In particular, we plan to increase the compensation for our summer teachers by as much as 50% in order to attract the brightest and best staff possible.

Let Your Elected Officials Know You Care About Education

The Tennessee legislature, which reconvenes in January, will be addressing some troubling issues for public schools. 

The first is an effort to return to the practice of electing superintendents in counties (such as Knox) that elected superintendents in the past. The proposal by Representative Frank Nicely is opposed by both the PTA and the Chamber of Commerce.

The second is a proposal by Senator Brian Kelsey of Memphis to provide tax support for private and parochial schools through tuition vouchers. The voucher bill has already passed the state Senate and need only pass the House and be signed by the Governor to become law.

We do not lobby but urge you to make your personal wishes known to our elected officials. For your convenience, we have provided the names, addresses, email addresses and telephone numbers of your elected officials. If you would like to know who represents you, click this website kgis.org and enter your address.

Tennessee State Senators:

District 6 - Senator Becky Duncan Massey

301 6th Avenue North, Suite 6A Legislative Plaza

Nashville, TN 37243

(615) 741-1648

sen.beckey.massey@capitol.tn.gov

District 7 - Senator Stacey Campfield

2011 Flagler

Knoxville, TN 37912

(615) 741-1766

sen.stacey.campfield@capitol.tn.gov

Tennessee State House of Representatives:

District 13 - Rep. Harry Tindell

P.O. Box 27325

Knoxville, TN 37927-7325

(865) 524-7200
 rep.harry.tindell@capitol.tn.gov

District 14 - Rep. Ryan Haynes

P.O. Box 22091

Knoxville, TN 37933

(615) 741-2264

rep.ryan.haynes@capitol.tn.gov

District 15 - Rep. Joe Armstrong

4708 Hilldale Drive

Knoxville, TN  37914

(865) 357-1524

rep.joe.armstrong@capitol.tn.gov

District 16 - Rep. Bill Dunn

5309 La Vesta Road

Knoxville, TN 37918

(865) 687-4904

rep.bill.dunn@capitol.tn.gov

District 17 - Rep. Frank Niceley

1023 Creek Road

Strawberry Plains, TN 37871

(615) 741-4419

rep.frank.niceley@capitol.tn.gov

District 18 - Rep. Steve Hall

5798 Alcapulco Avenue

Knoxville, TN 37921

(615) 741-2287

rep.steve.hall@capitol.tn.gov

District 19 - Rep. Harry Brooks

6600 Washington Pike

Knoxville, TN 37918

(615) 741-6879

rep.harry.brooks@capitol.tn.gov

During this time of Thanksgiving, the Great Schools Partnership would like to express its appreciation to all in the community who have shown an interest in our public school system by joining our membership campaign and/or donating to our cause of taking the Knox County Schools from good to great!

We would like to extend a special thanks to Mary Ellen Brewington, Julie Webb, Beth Cantrell and Ginna Mashburn. Each of these women has gone above and beyond in trying to spread the word about our organization. By hosting lunches, coffees and cocktail hours they have invited their friends to hear more about the work of the Great Schools Partnership. If you would like to help spread the word about the Great Schools Partnership by hosting an event, contact Virginia Babb at vbabb@greatschoolspartnership.com.

And don't forget . . .

Read with your child,

it's the most important 20 minutes of your day!

Great Schools Partnership

912 S. Gay Street, L210

Knoxville, TN  37902

(865) 215-4501

www.GreatSchoolsPartnership.com

Virginia Babb

VP of Membership Development

vbabb@greatschoolspartnership.com

Click HERE to join the Great Schools Partnership 

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