Hamilton County Teachers Selected For Teacher Leadership Opportunity

Erin Glenn, Heidi King, and Rachel Turner have been chosen as 2017-2018 Hope Street Group Tennessee State Teacher Fellows to provide a leadership voice in education policy. Kimberly Pringle will return as a second year fellow.

Hope Street Group is a national organization that works to ensure every American will have access to tools and options leading to economic opportunity and prosperity. The Hope Street Group Tennessee State Teacher Fellows Program is a nonpartisan program that provides a group of diverse public school teachers–who are chosen through a rigorous selection process - with skills around peer and community engagement, facilitating focus groups, and communication strategies while giving them opportunities to amplify teacher voice to inform policy decisions. Hope Street Group launched the program in Kentucky in 2013, replicating it in Hawai'i in 2014, North Carolina and Tennessee in 2015, and Arizona and Utah in 2017. 

“I want to continue growing as an educator for my students”, said Ms. Turner. “Participating in the Hope Street Group will allow me to learn from some of the brightest educators throughout the state and, in the process, I will be setting a great example for my students by showing them the importance of continuous learning.”

Ms. Glenn, Ms. King and Ms. Turner join 20 new fellows along with thousands of teachers across the state increasing teacher leadership and amplifying their voice to inform policy decisions. Ms. Pringle is one of seven teacher leaders returning to the cohort for a second year.

Ms. Kings said, "No longer are the days that teachers stand isolated in their classroom.  With organizations like HSG, teachers are able to network and collaborate with a community of stakeholders that share a common vision of a first rate education for all students."

Ms. Glenn said, “Keeping a student centered focus in education policy is imperative. I am honored for the opportunity to join the conversation and speak on behalf of my students as efforts are made to close achievement gaps.”

Tennessee State Teacher fellows have collected feedback and the opinions of Tennessee teachers on topics such as teacher professional development, Response to Instruction and Intervention, chronic absenteeism and effective discipline practices. Teacher Fellows lead focus groups, gather survey data, and meet with local and state leaders to give critical feedback on education policy issues.  The program also has an active social media presence, hosting monthly teacher-led Twitter chats on various education-related topics at #HSGEdChatTN.  

For the 2016-17 school year, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education, Teacher Fellows conducted a data collection where they sought teacher solutions from their peers on improving school climate, including chronic absenteeism and student discipline. Their findings were turned into actionable recommendations to further support educators in the state.  

Fellows like Ms. Gleen, Ms. King,  Ms Turner and Ms. Pringle will have the opportunity to survey and discuss similar issues with teachers across Hamilton County and use the results to advocate for teachers and students locally and throughout the state.

"It’s exciting to see the growth of the Tennessee State Teacher Fellows Program, and how teacher leadership has blossomed in our great state,” Keilani Goggins, Tennessee State Teacher Fellow program director stated. “Educator insight is critical when it comes to crafting meaningful education policy. I’m confident that this cohort of teacher leaders will do exceptional work engaging their peers and gathering input, while providing actionable recommendations to our partners .” 

Tennessee educators can contribute their voice to this year’s meaningful policy action by finding a 2017 Hope Street Group Tennessee State Teacher Fellow in their region here.