Grassroots Report: How Tennessee Parents Stopped Vouchers
Don’t Get Angry. Bake Cookies.
In December 2012, we–a small group of active public school parents–sat around a dining room table to discuss how we could combat the education reform bills we anticipated during the upcoming Tennessee state legislative session. We were very aware that we faced an uphill battle because Tennessee has become Ground Zero for education reform over the past few years. The Republican super-majority in both the state House and Senate appeared poised to pass a variety of corporate school reform bills. The fervor for this reform was fueled by our Governor, State Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman (Michelle’ Rhee’s ex-husband), Speaker of the House, Mayor of Nashville, and “part-time” Tennessee resident, Michelle Rhee. Reform groups from around the country, including Rhee’s StudentsFirst and the American Federation for Children, had descended on the state, bringing with them millions of dollars in campaign donations, ad buys, and lobbying cash. A total of 2 million dollars was spent on pushing the agenda of these outside reform groups.
This December meeting hatched a new statewide, nonpartisan organization called Standing Together 4 Strong Community Schools. The founding members brought various talents and political views to the effort. We used our individual talents and viewpoints to formulate and disseminate a message that had broad appeal–” Less government, local control, fiscal restraint, help ALL TN children.” We also narrowed down our focus to fighting
In December 2012, we–a small group of active public school parents–sat around a dining room table to discuss how we could combat the education reform bills we anticipated during the upcoming Tennessee state legislative session. We were very aware that we faced an uphill battle because Tennessee has become Ground Zero for education reform over the past few years. The Republican super-majority in both the state House and Senate appeared poised to pass a variety of corporate school reform bills. The fervor for this reform was fueled by our Governor, State Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman (Michelle’ Rhee’s ex-husband), Speaker of the House, Mayor of Nashville, and “part-time” Tennessee resident, Michelle Rhee. Reform groups from around the country, including Rhee’s StudentsFirst and the American Federation for Children, had descended on the state, bringing with them millions of dollars in campaign donations, ad buys, and lobbying cash. A total of 2 million dollars was spent on pushing the agenda of these outside reform groups.
This December meeting hatched a new statewide, nonpartisan organization called Standing Together 4 Strong Community Schools. The founding members brought various talents and political views to the effort. We used our individual talents and viewpoints to formulate and disseminate a message that had broad appeal–” Less government, local control, fiscal restraint, help ALL TN children.” We also narrowed down our focus to fighting