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Tennessee General Assembly Makes Education Top Priority
March 28, 2008
From preschool to college, every step of
a child’s education in Tennessee matters and because of that the
Tennessee General Assembly has made education a top priority.
As we begin to enter the budget stage of
this year’s session, I want to talk a little about two programs in
particular, pre-kindergarten classrooms and college scholarships.
These areas of education have been a major focus of mine this year and I
believe we should continue to make them a priority in the future.
Recently, Tennessee was recognized as
one of the top states in the nation when it comes to pre-K. Currently,
over 17,000 four-year-olds populate over 900 pre-K classrooms across
Tennessee. While that number seems large, the reality is that
there are over 70,000 students still without the ability to enter
Tennessee’s pre-K program.
Early childhood education can be the key
to a child’s success or failure later in life. By starting early
and working to build basic learning skills at a young age, children are
more likely to retain more knowledge and function better in a classroom
atmosphere. While pre-K isn’t a silver bullet to help all
children, it is a resource that benefits the majority of those who
attend.
Currently, we only allow low-income and
at-risk children to attend pre-K classes, but as Governor Bredesen said
in his State of the State Address in January, pre-K should be made
available to all of Tennessee’s children and it is my intention to work
with my colleagues in the House to make that vision a reality.
As we face the issue of early childhood
education, we must also look to improve the educational opportunities
for our entering college students. Currently over 70% of
Tennessee’s incoming freshman lose their HOPE Lottery Scholarship after
the first year. As a state we rank 46th in the nation when it
comes to college graduates residing within our borders. This is simply
unacceptable.
The HOPE Lottery Scholarship was created
to ensure more students in Tennessee could afford a college education.
Not knowing what the long-term financial stability of this program would
be, it was decided that a 3.0 GPA would be a safe starting point.
Six years later we have a surplus of over $400 million in the
scholarship fund and the long-term prognosis of the fund is good.
Yet, thousands of students in Tennessee are still not receiving the
benefits of the HOPE Lottery Scholarship.
I, along with a number of my fellow
House members, am presenting a bill again this year that would reduce
the GPA retention requirements to 2.75. By altering the retention
requirement, more students would have the ability to retain their
scholarships, therefore helping them and their families better afford a
college education. This change in the GPA retention requirements
would have no effect on the entrance requirement of a 3.0 GPA.
In addition, this year I am working to
help move legislation through the House that would extend college
assistance to “non-traditional” students, reward Tennessee veterans
returning home from service in Iraq and Afghanistan with funds to help
bridge the GI Bill gap, and provide tuition incentives to medical
students for service in rural communities.
A quality education, from
pre-kindergarten to college, is vital to the success of any individual.
As middle and working-class families struggle to pay higher energy costs
and grocery bills, we must work to make schooling as affordable as
possible. That was my goal last year with the BEP 2.0, and
continues to be my goal this year through college scholarships and pre-K
classrooms.
It is important to me to know
where the citizens of the 33rd District stand on the issues.
If you would like to learn more about
current legislation involving education funding, or if you have an issue
you’d like me to address, please contact my office at (615) 741-4400 or
e-mail me at
rep.jim.hackworth@legislature.state.tn.us.
Thank you again for taking time to learn
more about what your state government is doing for you and I look
forward to speaking with you again soon.
Rep. Jim Hackworth
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