The Tennessee Educational Equity Coalition was formed in the spring of 2016 to harness the collective influence and voices of a diverse group of civil rights and education advocacy organizations across the state. Our goal is to build a shared advocacy agenda that will address the chronic disparities in achievement and opportunities for students of color across the state. The Coalition is convened by Conexión Américas, a non-profit organization in Nashville that serves the Latino community.
From our work in the field, with parents, students, teachers and administrators, we know that our public education system has made important progress in serving Latino, African-American, and EL students.
However, we recognize that our programs are not enough to change the cycle of disparities in academic achievement that we see in our schools. Building upon our reputation as a convener and collaborator, as well as our history of advocacy at the state-level, we have worked to identify and convene partners from across the state, building a table where all voices are heard.
By doing so we seek to exercise greater voice in addressing the persistently slow pace of educational improvement for our students. Moreover, we are committed to supporting our partners through sub-grant investments in innovative coalitions and local advocacy strategies. We believe that our Coalition, with partners that are deeply rooted in communities of color, is itself is a meaningful unit of change, and must be greater than the sum of its parts.
In early March of 2016 we convened our Coalition in Nashville, and over the course of two days we developed our policy priorities, beliefs, and recommendations. Much of our work for the remainder of 2016 will focus on engagement with the Tennessee Department of Education on the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Our objective is ensure that there is an equity focus as decisions are made on defining teacher quality, systems of accountability, allocations of funding, supports and resources, and more.
We will work to ensure that the Coalition continues to grow in membership, capacity, and influence. We hope you will sign-up to receive our newsletters, or to participate in regional convenings and meetings in the coming months.