Tennessee
Related: About this forum'The state failed our children' Letters, calls and emails go unanswered by TN lawmakers
To date, Statewide Organizing for Community eMpowerment group members, parents, teachers, and community members sent more than 2,900 letters to the state legislature telling lawmakers the third-grade retention law was a bad idea.
Additionally, SOCM also distributed a petition that garnered more than 3,000 signatures from third-grade parents.
Two people who wrote letters, sent emails, and placed phone calls to lawmakers were Katherine Bike, from Knox County, and Jennifer Fagg, from Blount County.
"When I wrote the letter, I specifically wrote it to the representatives on the K-12 Subcommittee," Fagg said. "My biggest disappointment is I didn't hear back, not even an acknowledgment of my concerns."
Meanwhile, the state of Tennessee and the State Board of Education is calling the rollout of the third-grade retention law a "historic gain." Scores on the ELA portion of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program exam improved from last year by 4.3%.
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/education/tcap-rollout-third-graders-held-back/51-d8e3d2f5-8731-4f0c-ae4a-e1de87ae7e74
When 60% of kids do not score "proficient", that is not a "historic gain". Answer up for what you did, guys.
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Lovie777
(13,844 posts)Duppers
(28,193 posts)Blount County/ Maryville:
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) A gun-making company older than the Civil War will soon start calling Blount County home.
Smith & Wesson plans to start moving into its new headquarters later this year but things are moving on as scheduled.
More...
https://www.wate.com/news/blount-county-news/smith-wesson-to-start-moving-into-new-blount-county-hq-in-late-2023/
Not defending them but knowing the jobs, any jobs, are welcomed there.
Walleye
(33,709 posts)Docreed2003
(17,408 posts)Grossly underfund schools, create widely unrealistic measures, & then use this as an excuse to promote Bill Lee's let project of charter schools. It's abhorrent and yet another sign of how corrupt our legislature has become.
Duppers
(28,193 posts)Is there any hope?
Docreed2003
(17,408 posts)We have some phenomenal you leaders that are pushing for change. It's a monumental effort for sure