Our educational landscape is shifting
and many in power are choosing not to fully invest in our public schools. UnifiEd is focused on the issues impacting our schools, students, and educators.
School Facilities
Every student in Hamilton County deserves a high quality education at a school that prepares for their future and cultivates a lifelong love of learning. Unfortunately, for years, many in power have chosen to neglect the maintenance of our public school facilities, leaving many of our school buildings in a state of disrepair. As the Hamilton County School Board and County Commission work to approve a concrete facilities plan to remedy our current situation, we must ensure input from those most impacted- teachers, families, students, community members- is not only heard, but also integrated into the solution.
State & Federal Funding
Our communities thrive when our schools are fully funded and students have the freedom to learn with an education that prepares them for the future. Yet rather than investing in our public schools to make them stronger, some Tennessee legislators are playing political games with our public education system. Their efforts to reject nearly $2 billion annually in federal education is yet another attempt to underfund public schools in our communities. We must equip the schools where our children learn and thrive with the resources needed. Standing together, we can tell our lawmakers to invest in our public schools and the future of our communities.
Third Grade Retention
We all want our students to succeed, to read and write at grade level and to thrive academically and emotionally. But the 3rd Grade Retention Law which went into effect earlier this year bases students' promotion on a single test, which doesn't fully evaluate their academic success.
Our schools need resources that we know will benefit students— things like more support staff and more reading intervention at kindergarten to 2nd grade. We need to invest in our students, not more high stakes testing.