Statements

Mission

TQEE's mission is to advance statewide policies and practices that close opportunity and achievement gaps to ensure all Tennessee children birth through 3rd grade get the high-quality early education they need to power our state's future.

Background

TQEE was formed in 2015 as a 501c4 organization in response to a Vanderbilt University Peabody Research Institute study of Tennessee's Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) program. The research demonstrated: Children who attended the state's voluntary pre-k (VPK) program were better prepared for kindergarten, though pre-k classroom quality was inconsistent across the state. Those who did not attend caught up with VPK children by the end of kindergarten. Both groups of children's academic achievement declined in grades 2 and 3. The study did not examine K-3 factors that might have resulted in pre-k gains being unsustainable. The findings were a catalyst for the formation of TQEE by Blair Taylor, who gathered early education advocates from across the state, making the case for a new state focus on strengthening quality of the VPK program as well as of K-3rd grade to "sustain the gains" and specific support for the PreK Quality Act of 2016. Rep. Mark White (R-Memphis) and Senator Steve Dickerson (R-Nashville) sponsored the Pre-K Quality Act, which revised the Voluntary Pre-K for Tennessee Act of 2005 to ensure that programs are high-quality and coordinated with elementary education beyond the Pre-K level. It was enacted with near unanimous support of the legislature. In 2017, TQEE established a 501c3, TQEE-PR, and a political action committee to clearly separate its advocacy work from its policy work. Blair Taylor, as executive chairman of the board, raised the funds and hired Mike Carpenter, as the organization's first Executive Director and Lisa Wiltshire as the first Policy Director. The board of directors was expanded to eleven members statewide and an 85-member policy council was formed. In 2019, for personal reasons, Lisa Wiltshire opted to change her role with the organization to part-time consulting; and in 2020, Mike Carpenter decided it was time for employment close to home with a less demanding travel schedule. Blair Taylor assumed the role of interim CEO in June 2020, and was made permanent CEO by the board effective Jan 1 2021. TQEE works closely with policy and advocacy partners and state-level policymakers to commission research and propose policy that is evidence-based. The focus is on b-8 policy that will positively impact 3rd grade literacy and math proficiency in Tennessee's students.

Impact

It's important to say that we don't accomplish anything alone. Together, we are Our Coalition - comprised of organizations and people from across Tennessee who lend their time, talent and voices in support of quality early education. So for all you do for our children, thank you. Together we're making a difference!

Here are some of our shared wins worth celebrating!

Together, We More than Doubled the State's Budget for Evidence Based Home Visiting (EBHV) programs.
Together we've secured nearly $60 million in additional funding for EBHV. We believe strongly in these crucial programs where a professional social worker or nurse is sent to help struggling parents cope. Studies have repeatedly shown that these investments help strengthen parenting skills, reduce abuse and neglect, improve child and parent health, and get children ready for school. They're also cost effective, with a return of up to $5.70 for every $1 spent due to reduced costs of child protection, K-12 special education and grade retention, and criminal justice expenses. In 2018 we persuaded the legislature to increase the EBHV budget for the first time in a decade (by $1 million), and then secured another $1 million increase in 2019. Finally in 2020, the Governor Bill Lee administration effectively doubled the state's evidence based home visiting budget - authorizing the Tennessee Department of Health to tap $14,052,600 annually (over 4 years - so $56 million total and hopefully recurring after 4 years) from the state's unused appropriation of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. This is a huge win.

Together, We Protected Tennessee's Voluntary PreK Program
Because the results of a 2015 Vanderbilt study were broadly misinterpreted, many state policymakers mistakenly thought state's Voluntary PreK (TN-VPK) program doesn't work. Vanderbilt researchers originally confirmed that Tennessee children who participated in VPK are better prepared for Kindergarten, but confusion remained about whether the gains were sustained. In 2019, in a new report, the same researchers clarified that the VPK children also maintain academic advantage over their non-VPK peers through 3rd grade as long as their K-3 teachers and schools are effective. For four years TQEE fought hard to defeat legislation to siphon funds away from TN-VPK. Now we're ready to go on offense again to expand the program, and improve K-3rd instruction too!

Together, We've Started a Movement to Repair Tennessee's Broken Child Care System
It started with a first of its kind report: Want to Grow Tennessee's Economy? Fix the Child Care Crisis, produced by the TQEE team and sponsored by Chambers of Commerce and other business organizations across the state. It accelerated as we raised awareness with state policymakers that Tennessee had left $100s of millions in federal funds for child care on the table. And it continues with the Tennessee Child Care Task Force, which was created as a result of a bill TQEE actively supported in 2021 alongside sponsors Senator Becky Massey and Representative Patsy Hazlewood. The task force, of which TQEE President and CEO Blair Taylor is a member, is hard at work developing a strategic plan that will better ensure Tennessee's working families can access quality, affordable child care.

Needs

In 2021 we launched a new initiative -- the Bright Start Tennessee Network -- with 6 inaugural partner communities across TN, one of which is Greater Nashville. The United Way of Greater Nashville has signed on as the local convener and "backbone" organization, and the effort will build on the great work of the Blueprint for Early Childhood Success. TQEE is providing $150,000 in seed grant funds for the effort that require a match. And more importantly, philanthropic implementation dollars will be essential in the implementation of the work. We hope that middle Tennessee philanthropy will be as excited as we are about this initiative, and we look forward to this very intentional engagement towards supporting early education practice and state policy advocacy in Greater Nashville. Learn more about Bright Start TN at https://tqee.org/bright-start/

CEO Statement

TQEE is uniquely positioned to positively impact 3rd grade math and literacy because our focus is on the entire birth-8 continuum. We develop policy based on evidence and best practice across the continuum and then advocate to see it adopted and properly implemented. No other organization in the state develops and advocates for policy across the entire b-8 continuum.

Board Chair Statement

Miles Burdine, CEO of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce is the 2021-22 Board Chair for Tennesseans for Quality Early Education - Policy & Research.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Public & Societal Benefit  - Alliances & Advocacy
Secondary Category:	Education  - Elementary & Secondary Schools
Tertiary Category:	Human Services  - Child Day Care

Areas Served

TQEE is a statewide policy, practice and advocacy organization. Our board includes representation from all three grand divisions of the state.

TN