TREND Winter 2017/2018 | Page 19

2018 Gubernatorial Race
In your opinion , what are the top 3 challenges still facing education in Tennessee ?
( i ) Improving working conditions and ensuring our educators are in an environment that promotes quality professional development , team collaboration , and inclusive of the input of our educators on an ongoing basis .
( ii ) Literacy at early childhood sets a critical foundation for educational success . But when it comes to our reading benchmarks , less than half of our third-grade students are where they need to be . Closing this gap will take substantial work at the state and local level , and will take time to achieve .
( iii ) Career and technical education is a work-in-progress , but I believe it is the key to the economic prosperity of our state . Our next governor has the opportunity to lead a revolutionary period of growth in CTE , and we should be ready to challenge old assumptions and consider innovative opportunities to help children acquire the skills needed for success in life .
What are the steps that the state and local districts need to take to address the challenges you identified ? What impact will that have on classroom teachers ?
New challenges will always emerge , but I believe a fundamental operational principle going forward should be to respond and include the input of our educators in our policy . I also believe , fundamentally , that our state education policy should support , not supplant , local school district efforts to improve student achievement for all children , and to meet a vision that fits the needs of the local community and of our state .
One need we must respond to is the reality that if our educators are overworked , or lack the preparation and support they need to succeed , we will continue to face a challenge in recruiting and retaining the best and the brightest . As part of our response , our state and local leaders should engage in a full review of how our current policies impact the working conditions needed for teachers to thrive .
One priority for improvement should be how we approach professional development . It starts at our institutions of higher education , but it continues throughout a teacher ’ s career , particularly as new models and new insights emerge . We should encourage efforts to bring educators together in relevant communities of practice , and seek opportunities to put experienced teachers in a position to lead and develop other teachers , and reward those teachers who help lead . With 65,000 teachers across Tennessee , we have an abundant and underutilized resource of expertise , and I believe that if make the right investments to connect teachers across districts and schools , we can support of a culture of collaboration that helps everyone succeed .
Our support for educators will be critical as take on two major challenges facing our state : ( i ) Literacy , and ( ii ) Career and technical education . Success on both fronts will take substantial vision and effort from our communities and our state .
We know from experience that poor literacy at third grade leads to challenges later on in life , impacting high school graduation rates , poverty , and even increased rates of incarceration . But currently , less than half of Tennessee ’ s third graders are reading at grade level . The work our teachers accomplish in early childhood lays a foundation for success through post-secondary , and I believe we have an urgent need to invest in the instructional support necessary to help our educators meet the challenge . Efforts like Read to Be Ready demonstrate a commitment from the state that we should build upon , but to achieve success this must truly be a team effort that our state backs fully with improved resources and creative partnerships .
At the other end of a child ’ s school career , we currently have 4 out of 10 Tennessee high school graduates who don ’ t go onto a post-secondary option . And far too many of them graduate unequipped and unprepared for today ’ s job market . This is an issue very dear to me , because developing a trained workforce has been my life for the last 35 years . At Lee Company , we employ several hundred plumbers , pipefitters , and HVAC technicians , and even though we have been one of the most competitive employers in the industry , we ’ ve had to overcome serious challenges in recruiting and growing a workforce that meets the needs of our customers . We responded to the challenge by developing our own technical education program , and we ’ re fortunate to be one of many companies who have committed to growing job skills in Tennessee .
As we look towards the next 8 years Tennessee , our CTE instructors will likely face new challenges regarding training , equipment , and coordination at the school level and with our TBR institutions . But I believe if we support our local districts with aligned investments at every level , and if we commit to a stronger partnership with private industry , we can and will lead the nation in giving every student opportunities for a career after graduation .
Any final thoughts you ’ d like to share with our educators ?
There is no doubt in my mind that what our teachers do in the classroom will have the biggest impact on our students . And as your Governor , I ’ d make it a consistent priority in our educational agenda to lift up the profession and ensure our policies and working conditions promote an environment where teachers can thrive .
At Lee Company we have grown because of the hard work and leadership of our employees . As a CEO , I believe that leadership is about getting out of the office and learning from our people on the ground . For our school leaders and educators , I ’ ll be a Governor is someone who is available and is willing to listen .