DFER Condemns Governor Haslam for Skipping Another Year of Accountability for Tennessee Schools, Calls on Secretary DeVos to Closely Review this Decision that Harms Tennessee Children

DFER Condemns Governor Haslam for Skipping Another Year of Accountability for Tennessee Schools, Calls on Secretary DeVos to Closely Review this Decision that Harms Tennessee Children Decision Marks the Second Time in Three Years that Tennessee Skirts Accountability, This Time Mere Months After the Volunteer State’s ESSA Plan – Contingent on Assessments – Was Approved

RELEASE: Education Reform Advocates Issue Statement of Support on Tennessee Authorizer Bill Yesterday

             FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 18, 2013 Education Reform Advocates Issue Statement of Support on Tennessee Authorizer Bill Yesterday Nashville, Tn. — Representatives for StudentsFirst, Stand for Children, Democrats for Education Reform—Tennessee, and the Tennessee Charter Schools Association issued the following statement on February 18, 2013: “It is important for Tennessee families

DFER Supports Tennessee Licensure Reform

DFER Supports Tennessee Licensure Reform Democrats for Education Reform supports Commissioner Kevin Huffman as the Tennessee Board of Education votes on licensure reform today Nashville – Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) congratulates education leaders and the State Board of Education on the vote to replace the current complicated and out-of-date teacher licensure system with a

Top TN Reasons to Support Tennessee's Teacher Salary Reforms

By Mac LeBuhn, Policy Analyst Last month, the Tennessee Board of Education approved a policy to provide flexibility to school districts from the current statewide teacher salary schedule that is based solely on seniority and degrees earned. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, districts will have the flexibility to design alternative salary schedules that better

One Hundred Thousand Students

By Mac LeBuhn, DFER Policy Analyst This Friday, the State Board of Education will vote on a proposal to change Tennessee’s teacher licensure policies. The new proposal would reduce the length of a teacher license from ten years to six, introduce automatic license renewal for effective teachers and stop the renewal of licenses for teachers

CO State Senator Discusses School Finance and Reform in Nashville

  By Natasha Kamrani, DFER Tennessee State Director DFER Tennessee (DFER-TN) welcomed CO State Senator Michael Johnston for its second installment of DFER Tennessee’s Speaker Series in Nashville. Senator Johnston spoke to a large audience about the groundbreaking school finance work being done in Colorado. His message really struck a chord among Nashvillians eager to

DFER-TN Hosts First Installment of Speaker Series

  By Natasha Kamrani, DFER Tennessee State Director DFER-TN is dedicating a good deal of its first year of operation to educating communities on the leadership role Democrats are playing in education reform around our nation. As part of our efforts, we launched the DFER-TN Speaker Series this spring. The series will bring together thought

DFER TN releases video in response to discussions regarding costs of public charters

Dear Friends, DFER Tennessee released this video today in response to the recent discussions regarding the costs of public charter schools to the Metro Nashville Public Schools system. Please watch this powerful video and share it with as many parents, opinion leaders, and elected officials as possible. DFER | Charter School Authorizer from Make It

Democrats push to improve education

By Alex Little and Natasha Kamrani (From The Tennessean, February 26, 2013) Like many of you, we firmly believe that a first-rate system of public education is the cornerstone of a prosperous, free and just society. But we are all too aware that thousands of children in Tennessee are trapped in persistently failing schools that

RELEASE: DFER Launches TN Branch; Appoints Natasha Kamrani as State Director

Contact: Devin Boyle | 202.445.0416 | Devin@dfer.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Democrats for Education Reform Launches Tennessee Branch; Appoints Natasha Kamrani as State Director Washington, D.C., February 19th, 2013 – Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) announced today the establishment of a new state branch in Tennessee. Natasha Kamrani, a former director of Teach for America and