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Dear Coalition members,
It is back-to-school time in Tennessee, and our Coalition remains very engaged in local, state, and national advocacy work. Members of our Coalition now sit on a variety of ESSA working groups for the Tennessee Department of Education, which have begun to meet and discuss how Tennessee will implement the new law. We have been learning together and preparing for the meetings in order to engage in a substantive and informed manner. Our goal is ensure that the priorities of our Coalition, and the voices of the families and students that we serve, are reflected in the plan for Tennessee.
You have a role to play as well, and we ask that each of you take a minute to submit feedback to the State Department of Education’s feedback form. Feel free to take a look at our recommendations for feedback as you compose your answers. 
Our subgrantees have begun their advocacy projects, and we will have important events, townhalls, and trainings to share with you as they set their dates. 
Finally, members of our Steering Committee were invited to an Ed Trust ESSA Boot Camp this past week, where we spoke during a plenary session on our Coalition’s work to inform ESSA in Tennessee, and build a shared equity agenda. We continue to add new partners to the Coalition, and to engage in new and different ways. Please feel free to share this newsletter with colleagues who you feel would benefit from the information, or who may be interesting in joining us. 

Paz y gracias,

Gini Pupo-Walker
Senior Director of Education Policy & Strategic Growth
Conexión Américas

Members of the Education Equity Coalition steering committee attend The Education Trust's ESSA Bootcamp in Chicago, IL.

Sub-grantee Spotlight of the Month:

Conexión Américas is pleased to invest in the Tennessee NAACP's statewide efforts to share information about the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 

The TN NAACP proposes to leverage their expertise and state-wide presence in order to engage their membership, as well as parents, community leaders, and clergy in advocating for strong accountability in the ESSA, and appropriate and equitable resources for students in every district. 

The TN NAACP will hold a series of public events, town-halls, community meetings, forums and media events across the state. These public events will be complimented by training sessions across the state for chapter education leaders, as well as parents, and community leaders in advocacy around ESSA implementation.Learn more about the sub-grant work of the TN NAACP 
here.

Featured Resource

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), passed by Congress December 2015 and set to take effect in the 2017-2018 school year, is begining to see development in implimentation across the country. States are gathering feedback from educators, stakeholders, and parents. 

"As state leaders work to implement the ESSA, it is critical that there be strong voices advocating for equity and achievement in every key decision"

The Education Trust's Student Can't Wait Workgroup has put together resources to equip state and local advocates with information to effectively engage in the ESSA implimentation process. Resources include:
An introduction to school accountability under ESSA: and why it is so important to stay involved 
An introduction to what accountability indicators are: why they matter, and what advocates should have in mind in the selection process.
Fact sheets on the benefits, risks, and considerations associated with specific accountability indicators, such as Advanced Coursework, Assessment-Based Measures of College Readiness, Chronic Absenteeism, and School Discipline
Benefits and Considerations for these indicators for students with disabilities. 
An indicator "traffic light table" that provides level of confidence or caution advocates should take into consideration when selecting indicators. 
Check out our new website!
Learn more about the work of the Educational Equity Coalition, our sub-grantees, and our state-wide work at:
Contribute to the newsletter
To submit announcements, information, resources, recommended readings or events to be added to the next newsletter please send all information to:
edequity@conamericas.com
Recommended Readings
U.S. Department of Education
Policy brief by the U.S. Department of Education which examines state-by-state trends to compare the extent to which state and local governments are investing in education and in corrections. 
Tennessee Department of Education 
Update which explains the changes to assessment in Tennessee that were made in response to feedback from educators, parents, and students - including eliminating Part I in all subjects, restructuring the test to better fit within the shool day and year, and reducing overall testing time.
The Education Trust
A resource and guide which shares lessons learned from districts across the country on how to begin the work of changing inequitable patterns of access to strong, high-quality teachers, and lays out a process that can be replicated to ensure that low-income students and students of color have the opportunity to be taught by effective teachers throughout their schooling.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Study out of Duke University's Office of Biomedical Graduate Diversity reflects the work that has gone into understanding the student experience, particularly of underrepresented minorities, and why they are less likely to enter graduate school. 
Community Calendar
The community calendar will include events occuring around the state sponsored or led by Coalition members. To submit an event to be included in the following edition of the newsletter, please send event date, duration, a short summary, and best point of contact to: edequity@conamericas.com
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