Tennesseans for Quality Early Education launches Bright Start Tennessee Network to
accelerate early learning outcomes statewide
United Way of West Tennessee tapped to lead one of six inaugural community partnerships that will
design and implement evidence-based early success plans
Jackson, Tenn. – Tennesseans for Quality Early Education (TQEE) announced today that United Way of
West Tennessee has been selected to lead one of six inaugural partnerships of the Bright Start
Tennessee Network (Bright Start TN) – a new statewide initiative of TQEE to accelerate early learning
outcomes and close achievement and opportunity gaps for Tennessee children birth through third
grade.
Research has repeatedly shown that the first eight years of a child’s life are a critical development
period, and third grade is widely acknowledged as a benchmark year that determines future academic
success. Yet more than two-thirds of Tennessee’s third graders are not proficient in reading or in math.
Our state is facing a crisis that the Bright Start TN Network will help fix.
“Bright Start TN is an important extension of the work TQEE does to advance smart state policies and
practices that support young children’s success,” said TQEE President and CEO Blair Taylor. “But state
policies are only as successful as their local implementation. Through Bright Start TN we’ll tap the power
of local community members – civic and business leaders, child care providers, nonprofits, schools,
families and other stakeholders – to create and implement local plans for early childhood success that
leverage both state and community assets and resources. These teams will also inform TQEE’s state
policy agenda and expand our advocacy network.”
The United Way of West Tennessee will coordinate the Bright Start TN West Tennessee partnership
through the leadership of President and CEO Matt Marshall and Director of Early Education Initiatives
Olivia Abernathy. Marshall and Abernathy will work alongside a steering committee of community
leaders, including committee chair Jerri Moore, southwest regional coordinator for the Tennessee
Commission on Children and Youth, and vice-chair Dana Cobb, regional program administrator and
northwest regional coordinator for the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth.
The other inaugural Bright Start TN community partnerships are:
• Chattanooga/Hamilton County, coordinated by Chattanooga 2.0
• Knoxville/Knox County, coordinated by United Way of Greater Knoxville
• Nashville/Davidson County, coordinated by United Way of Greater Nashville
• Memphis/Shelby County, coordinated by First 8 Memphis
• Northeast Tennessee, coordinated by STRONG Accountable Care Community
The partnerships were chosen through a selective process that considered their commitment to address
learning and opportunity gaps in early care and education birth through third grade and their capacity to
assemble community teams to accomplish the initiative’s goals. Each community will use data to better
understand barriers to early learning, implement evidence-based and promising strategies, and share
learnings with peer communities and state policymakers. The partnerships will create local plans by the
summer of 2022, with implementation expected to be complete by 2025.
“The United Way of West Tennessee is honored to be part of this first-of-its-kind initiative in Tennessee
that strongly aligns with our mission to advocate for equity through uniting people in ways that improve
access to health, education and financial stability,” said Marshall. “As a community, we have a particular
responsibility to serve our youngest citizens in these areas. We’re all in this together, and the Bright
Start Tennessee Network will support us to develop and implement our regional early childhood plan.
We look forward to learning with and from other Tennessee communities so we can improve early
learning outcomes for West Tennessee children.”
Bright Start TN partnerships are each awarded an initial $300,000 over three years from TQEE and
matching grant partners, with philanthropic investment expected to grow. TQEE is providing significant
in-kind technical assistance support through state and national experts in early childhood care and
education. State government leaders from departments of human services, education and health are
also involved as critical partners to help ensure communities are optimizing existing state assets and
resources.
“We know that skills and performance gaps take root long before third grade and are tied to
opportunity gaps,” said Jonathan Scoonover, TQEE vice president of community engagement and
director of Bright Start TN. “Unfortunately, a disjointed and insufficient patchwork of education and
supports leaves many children vulnerable, resulting in poor academic outcomes for the children and our
state. TQEE’s Bright Start TN Network aims to change that, and we’re excited to work alongside United
Way of West Tennessee and the community partners they’ve assembled in this urgent endeavor.”
For more information about Bright Start TN, visit tqee.org/bright-start.
###
About Tennesseans for Quality Early Education
Tennesseans For Quality Early Education (TQEE) is a bipartisan coalition of Tennesseans committed to
ensuring Tennessee’s youngest learners, birth through third grade, get the quality early education they
need to power our state’s future. Learn more about TQEE at tqee.org.
About United Way of West Tennessee
Established in 1941, United Way of West Tennessee is a nonprofit organization in Jackson, Tenn., that
advocates for equity through uniting agencies in ways that improve each person’s access to health,
education and financial stability. Learn more about the United Way of West Tennessee at uwwt.org.
