All Photos: Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau

President & CEO

PRESENTED TO YOU BY…

Coalitions. Coordination. Communication.

Showing broad support for higher standards in Tennessee

Expect More, Achieve More Coalition More than 400 Tennessee business, community, and education organizations that support higher standards

Businesses for Tennessee Prosperity

Tennessee’s four largest Chambers of Commerce, Tennessee Chamber, and Tennessee Business Roundtable

State Collaborative on Reforming Education

(SCORE) Nonpartisan, nonprofit education research and advocacy group founded by former Senator Bill Frist

Coordinated strategic plan of advocacy

At Capitol Hill

‘Day on the hill’ events Multiple news conferences with

educators, parents, business leaders Testimony at legislative committees Supporters to fill the room for

legislative committee meetings Calls, letters, emails to General

Assembly members Weekly visits by teachers, principals,

superintendents, stakeholders Packets of fact sheets on Common

Core and assessment

Coordinated strategic plan of advocacy

In legislative districts

Invitations to ‘See Common Core in the Classroom’ – 39 visits during legislative session

Online portal for teachers to email their legislators – 320 direct emails from Tennessee educators

Strategic plan of communication

With the influential

Expect More, Achieve More weekly newsletter to 1,400 influencers in Tennessee

Editorial board visits to all major Tennessee newspapers

Proactive engagement with journalists to pitch stories about the standards and assessment

Separate Common

Core fact from fiction

Strategic plan of communication

With the public Radio ad campaign by Businesses

for Tennessee Prosperity

Op-eds and opinion pieces in Tennessee newspapers

Social media

Digital advertising

Yes, there were surprises

Bill hijacked, amended to pause Common Core, and passed by House

Conference committee compromise stopped PARCC testing, requires RFP for new assessment

The Outcome

• More than a dozen bills sought to derail Common Core State Standards and assessment

• Bills to pause or delay the standards did not move out of committee

• A bill to delay PARCC assessment, seek RFP became law

Major Successes

• Continued implementation of Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards

• Deep engagement of the business community and educators in the policymaking process

• Legislation around data

privacy did not unintentionally hinder progress

The Work Ahead

• Resetting the conversation with a new focus on student-centered policies

• Building an emotional connection with more Tennesseans by highlighting successes to date and emphasizing the “why” of this work

• Amplifying the most-trusted voices on student learning: our educators

• Building broader support for Tennessee’s new, higher standards and for a new assessment that works for students, parents, and educators

Thank You!